anybody got any idea how many freshmen saw playing time tonight
Back to the original question, I read somewhere that there were 12 true freshmen who saw action in the game. That number seems high to me, and RollTide.com hasn't put out a game book with a participation report for the playoff games like they do for regular season games, so I can't verify it.
The ones I'd count based on previous games and observation:
Offense:
Tua
Najee
Leatherwood
Ruggs III
Smith
Jeudy
Major Tennison
Special Teams:
Brian Robinson
Daniel Wright
VanDarius Cowen
That's 10, which is a huge number of true freshmen to be trusted in such a game. Also, if not for injury, Dylan Moses and LaBryan Ray would have surely gotten on the field as well.