TUSCALOOSA — Alabama coach Nick Saban said Monday that LaMichael Fanning showed “very, very poor judgment” when he tackled Missouri running back Russell Hansbrough by picking him up and slamming him into the turf Saturday in the Tide’s 42-10 win.

Fanning was flagged for a personal foul penalty for the move, which is known as a “suplex” by professional wrestling fans.

“I think this is a young player who’s excited about getting into the game, makes very, very poor judgment on making that play,” Saban said. “It’s something that we don’t condone here. It’s not how we want our players to play. I think he understands that what he did was not done in the right way in terms of being a strong competitor, and we are managing internally things for him to do to make better choices and decisions in the future.”

A 6-foot-7, 298-pound redshirt freshman defensive lineman, Fanning will face internal discipline, and Saban said that includes writing letters of apology to Hansbrough and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. The Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune reported Pinkel said he received an apology from Saban on Sunday and an email from Fanning.

“I talked to Gary about it,” Saban said. “He understands our position on it.”

An Alabama spokesman said the school had not heard from the Southeastern Conference regarding the
matter.

McCarron at practice

The verdict on Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron’s knee is he bruised it Saturday in the win over Missouri, but it didn’t stop him from practicing Monday.

In the media viewing period, McCarron wore a black brace on his right knee, but otherwise, he was jogging and going through drills as he usually does. McCarron went down in the third quarter of the win but didn’t miss a play. Saban said McCarron “pinched the fat pad,” which is underneath his knee cap.

Tide-MSU kickoff

Get ready for another night game. The SEC announced Alabama will host Mississippi State on Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m., and ESPN will carry the broadcast.

Alabama already has played Michigan and Ole Miss at night. The Tide also will face Tennessee on Saturday at 6 p.m. and LSU on Nov. 4 at
7 p.m.