Alabama had used 16 of its true freshmen entering last Saturday's game with Tennessee.

At this point in the season, it's fairly clear which rookies will be getting a redshirt since more than half of the regular season had passed.

Well, another redshirt came off in the eighth game of 2017. Linebacker VanDarius Cowan saw his first action of the season in the 45-7 win over Tennessee.

The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., product didn't play because of an injury elsewhere. Nick Saban explained the thinking Wednesday evening.

"Because we're going to play against some teams that will be in regular formations and we'll have to play some regular people, we thought that we would need him," Saban said, "especially in this next game coming up against LSU."

Cowan didn't record any stats in his appearance against the Vols.

LaBryan Ray, a five-star defensive lineman, had his redshirt intact for the first four games of the season. It came off for the Ole Miss game when injuries became an issue on the defensive line. He made a big sack in his second game of his career at Texas A&M.

The Tide had eight true freshmen play in the opener against Florida State.

As Alabama enters November, eight members of its No. 1 2017 signing class still have their redshirts. Cowan was No. 9 before Saturday.

"We decided to coach him and try to develop him because of our situation at outside linebacker," Saban said. "How much he plays and how much he can contribute will be relative to how fast he gets to the point he can play winning football."

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande.