Check out the latest update on Alabama football injuries as the Crimson Tide prepares to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday in Knoxville.
Last week we described the Alabama football team as a mixture of gimpy and depleted. As the Crimson Tide prepares for the Vols our assessment is still gimpy and maybe a tad less depleted.
Also last week we asked who could be counted on in “next man up” situations in the Crimson Tide secondary. Saivion Smith provided a strong statement in his play at cornerback, replacing the injured Trevon Diggs. Smith had two interceptions and made four tackles. The real “next man up” in the secondary only occurred in dime formations. Jared Mayden’s sixth man role was his first regular work with the first unit. He recorded one assisted tackle.
Let’s review the full injury list, compiled from multiple sources, including comments by Nick Saban.
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.
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 Tennessee game.
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 that appeared to get aggravated sliding against Missouri. Alabama football message boards and Twitter have been filled with rumors of a cartilage tear having possibly led to the knee being scoped. There is no proof for those rumors. Saban still calls the injury a sprain and on Monday said Tua would be more healthy in practice this week than he was last week.
Devonta Smith – WR. Saban said Smitty has a muscle pull and is day-to-day. Unsubstantiated rumors are it is worse than a pull and he could be out 2-3 weeks. At least for now, the option for Smith to bolster up the secondary is off the table.
Lester Cotton – OG. Cotton has an ankle sprain. He played against Missou but Deonte Brown filled in for him as well. He is expected to play against Tennessee.
Mack Wilson – ILB. As we said last week, some insiders believe he is playing through a fractured bone in his foot. His active play against the Tigers led to 11 tackles including a tackle for a loss and a sack. The performance gave zero indication Mack has anything broken.
Wide receivers Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy stood to the side during Monday’s media viewing period. Ruggs was clearly banged up during the Missouri game. Nothing more is known.
Other Monday Nick Saban comments on Monday,
"Talking about the secondary: “we’ve got to get more guys ready to play winning football. That’s a real key … based on the depth we have.”"
Saban also commented on Raekwon Davis’ penalty in the Missouri game,
"I visited with Sankey about Raekwon’s actions … we’ll handle it internally and I think it should affect his play(ing) time in the future."
Here is the complete Monday press conference.
The post linked above astutely pointed out the unit under the most pressure after the Trevon Diggs injury would be the defensive line. They stepped up in the Missouri game and got good pressure, usually with only four pass rushers. Their results were seven QB hurries and four sacks. A three-man rush was also used ineffectively and Alabama football fans may not see that formation again. The result was a touchdown.