On Wednesday Alabama Crimson Tide head coach, Kalen DeBoer provided an update on Kadyn Proctor's injured shoulder. The news was encouraging, including a possibility that Proctor could play Saturday night against USF.
DeBoer explained the latest on Proctor to reporters, "He’s doing really well. He’s pretty much living in the training room. He’s got strong aspirations to get on the field as fast as possible. I can’t say one way or the other where that would be as of right now with still three days left before we play."
Alabama Crimson Tide needs Kadyn Proctor
Alabama Crimson Tide fans know how important Proctor is to the Alabama Football offense. Many fans think keeping him out of action against USF and possibly against Wisconsin would be the safest approach. Playing against the Georgia Bulldogs' defense without Proctor would be more than a little worrisome.
Kalen DeBoer also said "He’s working toward it (playing this week). We’ll have to see right toward the end of the week. If it were up to him, he’d probably be out there. But we’ve got to be smart, and that means in these days earlier in the week, we’ve got to be smart and careful."
Proctor's replacement, Elijah Pritchett was not a major liability against Western Kentucky. But he allowed a sack and more QB pressures than the rest of the Crimson Tide's O-line allowed in total. After the WKU game, DeBoer had some good things to say about Pritchett, focusing on what he did well, rather than harping on his weaknesses.
Some Alabama fans believe there is so much depth among the Tide's interior offensive linemen that sliding Tyler Booker out to left tackle would be a good option. Maybe so, in a more dire emergency, but Booker filling in for Proctor makes no sense now.
Proctor was injured or re-aggravated an injury during pre-game warmups last Saturday. The big guys hit pretty hard in warmups, but it was still a fluke of bad luck.
Whatever the decision is Proctor on Saturday, Pritchett is expected to get more game reps at tackle.