The long-awaited debut of Louisville transfer Tyler Harrell came Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Entering late in Alabama’s 30-6 homecoming win over Mississippi State, the last of the Crimson Tide’s five high-profile transfers made his debut. Catching one pass from Jalen Milroe for a gain of 12 yards in the eighth game of the season wasn’t necessarily the plan but Nick Saban has a vision moving forward.

“It’s unfortunate that the guy missed a lot of time because of an injury but he is making a lot of progress,” Saban said Monday before speaking to the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club. “And he does offer something with his speed that is always something that can benefit you on offense so we want that to continue to improve and hopefully we can create roles for him down the road that is going to be effective for him and for us.”

Alabama could use an explosive threat in its passing game where the home run shots haven’t been as plentiful. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs leads the team in receptions with 31 while Ja’Corey Brooks’ 376 receiving yards tops the stat sheet.

Eight games into last season, John Metchie had 52 receptions and Jameson Williams logged 710 yards for team highs.

Where the longest passing play spanned 53 yards through eight games this year, the 2021 Crimson Tide had four throws of 55-plus yards in the first two-thirds of the 2021 regular season.

Harrell caught 18 passes for 523 yards and six touchdowns at Louisville last season with track-star speed.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.