Alabama received some unfortunate injury news on Sunday when defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman went down with what sounds like a significant injury for the second season in a row. Kalen DeBoer said that he would be evaluated on Tuesday to determine the extent.
On the other end of the spectrum is the continued progress of NC State transfer WR Noah Rogers, who returned to practice on Sunday. Rogers suffered a major injury during the A-Day scrimmage, which was described at the time as one that would cause him to miss part of the 2026 season.
A month ago, DeBoer mentioned that Rogers was ahead of schedule in his recovery, but wouldn't commit to a timeline. While he still didn't commit to a timeline when speaking to the media on Monday, he confirmed that Rogers is making great progress and is way ahead of where they expected him to be at this point.
“Noah’s had the chance to get on the field the last few days, and going back to the spring game, A-Day, when the injury happened, the timeline that he was on and what we expected, he’s much ahead of that," DeBoer said. "That’s a tribute to his mindset, his positivity from the time he was diagnosed; he was still up here, and just was not gonna let it deter him from continuing to move forward and make the most of every day he could. He’s done that.
"Our team just celebrated him being back out here and moving around. He’s not doing team drills or anything like that, but he’s making a progression, and he’s much ahead of schedule from what we originally thought.”
Kalen DeBoer notes that Noah Rogers is 'ahead of schedule' for Alabama in his injury return
Don't expect Rogers to play Week 1 against East Carolina. It might be too much to expect that he'll be on the field for the SEC opener the next week at Kentucky, too. But he's going to get on the field sooner rather than later.
That's good news for an Alabama WR room that, while talented, is short on experience at this level. Outside of Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks, there aren't a ton of catches at the FBS level in the room. Between Rico Scott, Derek Meadows, Cederian Morgan, and JUCO transfer Tyler Henderson, that's a combined 16 receptions, all of which are from Scott.
Rogers caught 68 passes over the last two years at NC State. He'll add some much-needed experience at this level to the room when he's able to get back on the field.
There's a lot of confidence within the program in Scott, Meadows, and Morgan in particular, but added depth is always a good thing, and competition will bring out the best in everyone.
Prior to the injury, Rogers looked like a safe bet to earn a starting spot for the Crimson Tide. The door was opened for the others with him missing time, but there's a role for Rogers when he's able to get in game shape and get on the field.
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