Alabama: McCarron Played Final Six Games With Injured Ribs

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron says he played the final six games of his team's national championship season with injured ribs. "I had three ribs come out of place," McCarron told ESPN.com earlier this week. "They kept popping in and out of place, the one at the top, and it was just a nagging pain the whole time.

McCarron finished the season with 30 touchdown passes and only three interceptions en route to Bama'ssecond straight championship victory, playing through significant pain following the Oct. 27 defeat of Mississippi State. He said he was was injured on a sack and had to limit his throwing in practie thereafter.

The five-week layoff between the SEC Championship and the Tide's 42-14 win over Notre Dame in the Discover BCS National Championship Game allowed McCarron to come closer to 100 percent. Since taking over for Greg McIlroy in 2011, McCarron is 25-2 as a star and has yet to miss a game. The Tide quarterback did not miss any meaningful snaps because of the injury, sitting out for the fourth quarter against Mississippi State with a 24-0 lead.