Review a thorough rundown on Alabama football injuries and who can be counted on in ‘next man up’ situations for the Crimson Tide.
Going into the Missouri game, the Alabama football team is a mixture of gimpy and depleted. Add Trevon Diggs to the list of key players with, at best, extended periods to recover from injuries. The latest information on Diggs is he is probably finished for the season.
Alabama football fans want to know who can step in for Diggs and at other positions where players are not at full strength. Let’s review the full injury list, cobbled together from multiple sources.
Injured Players with no timetable for a return
- Terrell Lewis – OLB. Lewis is running but standard schedules for a knee injury indicate even January would be an ambitious return date.
- Chris Allen – LB. Lewis is out indefinitely and probably for the season, including the Playoffs.
So far no Crimson Tide player has filled the pass rushing void from left by the Lewis injury. Allen is an OLB, who also worked at ILB for needed depth. A healthy Allen would have filled in whenever Mack Wilson or Dylan Moses needed a break. Based on recent practices and a small sampling of game action, it appears Josh McMillon is now the ‘next man up’ at ILB if needed. Ale Kaho is still learning the system. The same is true for Jaylen Moody. There is concern among insiders Markail Benton is not able to contribute so far in his redshirt freshman season.
- Trevon Diggs – CB. Diggs’ broken foot was worse than first anticipated. He is out indefinitely and Nick Saban has basically said he does not expect Trevon can return this season.
- Jaylin Armour-Davis – CB. Jaylin might have been in for a redshirt before his knee injury. He is out for the season.
- Daniel Wright – DB. Wright added surgery on top of a suspension. He had surgery on his shoulder and is out for the season.
- Kedrick James – TE. James has a high ankle sprain and is not expected to be available for the Missouri game.
Jared Mayden is likely to be the Tide’s new sixth DB in dime formations. Saivion Smith will take Trevon’s corner spot. Shyheim Carter and Xavier McKinney will handle star and money. Mayden will be the second safety. Carter can also play corner if needed. Though a junior, Mayden’s game experience is minimal. He has no career starts.
Another option in the secondary could become Devonta Smith. The Tide is deep at wide receiver and Smith did some preseason sessions at defensive back.
Gimpy players for the Crimson Tide
We use gimpy to mean not fully healthy or in the context of hurt rather than injured. Players can push through being hurt, but not being injured.
- Tua Tagovailoa – QB. Tua has a sprained knee with no serious limitations.
- Lester Cotton – OG. Cotton has a mild ankle sprain but is expected to play against Missouri.
- Mack Wilson – ILB. Mack has a bad wheel and plays with a heavy wrap. Some insiders believe he is playing through a fractured bone in his foot.
- Jonah Williams – OT. Williams is playing through an ankle sprain.
If any of the above four were to become injured, the ‘next man up’ is clear for everyone except Mack. It would be Jalen for Tua; Deonte Brown for Cotton; Matt Womack for Jonah. As we said above, the best guess for Mack is Josh McMillon but Christian Miller might also be an option.
The Crimson Tide is a few short weeks away from crunch time. Bama Hammer will be following the injury situations carefully. Check in with us often.