Alabama offensive lineman Deonte Brown will return to the field after serving an NCAA suspension that made him miss the last two games of last season and first four games this year.

A starter for the Crimson Tide last season, Brown will not automatically have his starting job handed back to him according to his head coach.

“The plan for every player on the team is the guy has to beat somebody out if he wants to play,” Nick Saban said on Monday. “I mean, nobody is entitled to play. If he gets in shape, he does what he’s supposed to do and shows he can play better than somebody else is playing, that’s the plan. And that’s kinda up to him. Not up to me.”

Brown was the starting left guard last season, helping pave the way for the Tide running game which averaged 198.40 yards on the ground in 2018.

In Brown’s place, freshman Evan Neal, a five-star recruit out of high school, has been playing at left guard. The Tide have averaged 178.y5 yards per game rushing through four games this season