Alabama defensive lineman Byron Young suffers sprained ankle during win vs. Vanderbilt

Most everything went well for Alabama on Saturday night, getting an SEC win over Vanderbilt at Bryant Denny Stadium. However, injuries were not something the Crimson Tide or head coach Nick Saban was able to avoid. Defensive lineman Byron Young was one who got hurt, with an update being provided after the game.

When Young went down on the field, he was able to get off the field with the help of the training staff. He was eventually carted back to the locker room to get some tests done. Saban said it’s a sprained ankle for the experienced player.

Young was seen back on the sidelines late in the fourth quarter, walking around on crutches. No specific timeline has been identified by the program, with more surely to come later in the week.

In the three previous games this season, Young has been a starter in all of them. He has recorded nine tackles, with two of them coming for a loss. The lone quarterback pressure of the year came a week ago aginst Louisana-Monroe.

Young’s numbers may not pop out to you when looking at the box score. But if Alabama has to play a few games without them, it will be a significant loss for the Crimson Tide.

Nick Saban assesses defensive performance after Alabama win

Saban went over the positives on defense during a postgame interview, praising the third down defense and against the run. He was right there, with Vanderbilt converting one of 13 attempts and rushing for just 14 yards.

However, he wanted a better performance when going up against a certain Commodore receiver. Especially with a tough game against Arkansas next on the schedule, the level of competition will be taking a step up.

“I think you got to do a good job on third down,” said Saban. “I think we did a good job on third down and I think we did a pretty good job against the run for the most part. And we didn’t give up a lot of explosive plays. 14 (wide receiver Will Sheppard) is a really good player. He had a couple balls to him. We were right on him but he made a good play. So, we got to clean that up.”