Alabama got bad news on Wednesday when sophomore right guard Michael Carroll was listed on the Crimson Tide's availability report as "doubtful" for this weekend's matchup against Kentucky. Carroll is dealing with a mild concussion.
Carroll is the only player on Alabama's offensive line with starting experience with the Crimson Tide from last year. The four additional starters are either first-time starters (Jackson Lloyd, Will Sanders) or transfers (Racin Delgatty, Jayvin James).
On Thursday, Carroll remained "doubtful." On Friday, he was officially listed as "out."
Alabama will be without star guard Michael Carroll for its SEC opener at Kentucky
Carroll had a fantastic start to the season last week against East Carolina. He graded out as one of the best guards in the country and looked to be immediately on the path to a potential All-American/All-SEC type of season as a second-year player.
For an Alabama offensive line that needs as many reps together as they can get, having to shuffle the deck in Week 2 is less than ideal.
Fortunately, Alabama has a guy in Mal Waldrep who took a lot of reps in both spring and fall camp with Sanders sidelined. Waldrep looked like the favorite to start at left guard for much of camp, but Sanders made a late charge to overtake him.
But there's a reason you always want to have seven or right linemen ready to play. Inevitably, you're going to deal with attrition. For Alabama, that attrition came early.
Carroll is the most irreplaceable member of Alabama's offensive line. He's the best player up front.
But for Kalen DeBoer and company, you can't let the loss of one offensive lineman completely derail your game plan. The good news is that this wasn't a late-week injury. Alabama was aware of it early, which allowed for Waldrep and Sanders to take all the reps at the guard spots this week to get ready to play in the game this afternoon.
Kentucky's front can present some problems for Alabama in Lexington today, especially without Carroll. But you have to hope that Waldrep will step up and play well enough that the loss isn't as noticeable as you might think.
With Keelon Russell at QB, Alabama has a guy who can mask some issues up front with his ability to work the pocket, extend plays, and then go be a playmaker on the run.
All reports indicate that Carroll should only miss one game. After missing this week, the sophomore should be able to return to the lineup next week against Florida State.
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