Friday’s Wrap of Alabama Football News: Player Updates

Let’s check out some news on B.J. Emmons and Nigel Knott in our Alabama football Friday wrap of Tide news.

We have some new information on the injury recovery and development of players, B. J. Emmons and Nigel Knott.

B. J. Emmons

Emmons is coming off injury and did not see contact this spring. Given the injury and the LOADED backfield for Alabama football, some fans have wondered if Emmons will become the odd man out. A few fans have fueled totally unsubstantiated rumor that Emmons will transfer.

How short are our memories. Last fall, fans were excited about Emmons, even more so than Josh Jacobs. News came out this week that Emmons was up to 237 pounds. It was reported he played at 210 pounds last fall, though rolltide.com listed him at 206 pounds. A couple of pundits surmised the added weight spelled doom for Emmons as a Tider.

Fortunately, Matt Zenitz of al.com provided more information

"“the 6-foot sophomore running back is up to a muscular 237 pounds, is only eight percent body fat and has (said) he feels faster than ever. That’s notable considering a then-232-pound Emmons ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds at the Under Armour All-America Combine when he was in high school.”"

Emmons was injured in the Texas A&M game and has had two surgeries to repair his injured foot. Crowded backfield or not, we are rooting for Emmons to fully recover and contribute this fall.

Nigel Knott

As Alabama football fans know well, cornerbacks are needed. The Tide secondary has talent and experience, but not at every position. Many insiders believe Trevon Diggs will become a great cornerback but he is not there yet.

The Tide has more numbers to back up the starting safeties but at least two solid backup corners need to emerge. True freshman Kyriq McDonald was a bright spot in the A-Day game.

We are beginning to hear some confidence that Nigel Knott can be counted on the fall. Knott struggled in spring scrimmages, leading some to question his opportunity to play meaningful minutes for the Tide.

Coming out of high school, Knott was a composite 4-Star, rated as the No. 7 corner in the nation. He has wide receiver speed, clocked at 4:38 in the summer of 2015. Knott had a serious knee injury during his senior year of high school. To give himself time to heal, he redshirted last season.

He is getting close to a full recovery. By fall camp he is expected to be sound and back to his blazing speed.

Stephen M. Smith of Touchdown Alabama recently wrote this about Knott:

"Nigel Knott is the future of the Tide’s secondary. The moment he gets healthy, he will be a deadly player.” (Sources said) “His speed and athleticism is unreal, Nigel is faster than most of the starters on the team.”"

Alabama football fans certainly hope that Stephen and his sources are correct. Nigel could become the much-needed help at cornerback.

Next: Check Out 4 New OC's from Tide 2017 opponents

Check in with us every Friday as we wrap up the Alabama football news of the week. Have any questions, send them to us on Twitter or Facebook.