Alabama star CB Zabien Brown suffered an injury in the second quarter that saw him exit the game and head straight to the locker room. He didn't return, with Carmelo O'Neal and Dijon Lee stepping into the CB spots in his absence.
He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the half, but there was no immediate word if he would be back for the final 30 minutes.
But then Brown emerged from the locker room wearing sweatpants, signaling his day in Knoxville was officially done.
Alabama will have to try to come from behind to beat Tennessee without Zabien Brown
Brown has been Alabama's best CB for the two seasons now, so losing him is a significant blow to Kane Wommack's defense. The Crimson Tide went into halftime trailing 12-10 after a disastrous offensive half. Alabama mustered fewer than 100 yards of total offense, but the Crimson Tide's defense kept them in the game with key redzone stops and a couple of forced turnovers.
Now, that defense is down one of its best overall players.
The beleaguered Dijon Lee, who didn't start this week after a meltdown late against Georgia, will have to step up. He played a lot of snaps in the first half and made some plays, so there should be optimism that he can help lead the Crimson Tide to the come-from-behind win.
Of course, if the offense doesn't pick up the pace, it might not matter much what the defense does. They need some help that did not come in the game's first 30 minutes.
Behind Lee and O'Neal, next up at CB would be two true freshmen: Zyan Gibson and Jorden Edmonds. Gibson would likely get the first chance at snaps in the CB rotation, with Edmonds having missed significant time to open the season with an injury he suffered late in fall camp.
Wommack will lean on Lee and O'Neal as much as he can, but one of the freshmen will likely have to play some meaningful snaps.
Add us as a preferred source on Google