Alabama's running back corps took a hit on Saturday, and it came before the game even started.

Sophomore running back Altee Tenpenny was not on the field during pregame warmups or the game itself in the Crimson Tide's 25-20 win over Mississippi State. Saban gave a reason for that Monday.

"He was late for the meeting and I just told him to pick his stuff up and we'd talk to him later," Saban said. "So the guy was late for the meeting. Not important enough for him to be at the meeting, not important enough for me to dress him for the game."

Last season as a freshman, Tenpenny was fourth on the depth chart but fell to fifth at the start of this season. Even with injury issues for those ahead of him on the depth chart, including Kenyan Drake who was lost for the season with a broken leg at Ole Miss on Oct. 4, Tenpenny hasn't seen an increased workload at running back.

In his two seasons at Alabama, Tenpenny, the top-rated high school player out of Arkansas in the 2013 class according to 247Sports, has seen most of his action on special teams, carrying the ball just 37 times for 154 yards and one touchdown in his Crimson Tide career.

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