Nick Saban reveals linebacker Deontae Lawson suffered sprained ankle vs. Ole Miss

Alabama took care of business on Saturday afternoon, getting a much-needed win against Ole Miss. However, there were some injury problems they had to deal with. One of those was starting linebacker Deontae Lawson.

Nick Saban gave an update on Lawson, saying he suffered a sprained ankle. No specific timeline was mentioned with Saban using “day-to-day” to describe the linebacker’s status. There will likely be more information available leading up to Alabama’s game against Mississippi State.

“He’s got a sprained ankle,” Saban said. “He’s going to be day-to-day. It’s a pretty good one so nobody knows how long it’s going to take for him to respond. That’s all I can tell you about that one.”

Lawson went down in the middle of the second quarter, with trainers immediately meeting him on the field. He was not even involved in the play at the time. Alabama was attempting to bring down Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and Lawson was a few feet away. Unfortunately, players landed on top of Lawson’s ankle.

He was not able to return to the game and will now begin the road to getting back onto the field. Alabama is going to want one of their starters back as soon as possible.

Losing Lawson would be a big loss but everyone on the Alabama defense knows it’s going to be a next-man-up mentality. Jihaad Campbell was instantly slotted in following the injury, putting in a good performance of his own with seven tackles. However, it does not mean Lawson’s teammates did not feel for him going down.

“I feel like anybody on the defense can step,” linebacker Dallas Turner said. “Of course, it’s always a next-man-up mentality here. That’s how I played my freshman year. But just seeing Deontae go down, it hurt my heart because that’s my brother. But he’s gonna bounce back, for sure. We have one of the best training staff’s in the world.”

Lawson did not have the best day when looking at the stat sheet, having just one tackle. His presence on the field is much more than that. In an area where Alabama needs some real leadership, Lawson would be a massive long-term loss. The CBS broadcast described him as the quarterback on that side of the ball. Especially when facing big situations.

Everyone associated with the program will be hoping Deontae Lawson is healthy and can return as soon as possible.