Nick Saban says Bryce Young is on a 'pitch count' heading into Tennessee matchup

Last week, Bryce Young didn’t end up playing in Alabama’s victory over Texas A&M as he recovers from a shoulder injury. But things might be trending in a positive direction this week, according to an update from Nick Saban on Wednesday.

During a press conference, Saban said Young has practiced this week, but has been on a “pitch count” as he works his way back from an AC sprain in his shoulder. He suffered the injury against Arkansas two weeks ago and his status has been up in the air ever since.

Based on Saban’s update, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner seems to be progressing well.

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“Bryce continues to practice a little bit more,” Saban said. “We’ve got him on a little bit of a ‘pitch count’ to kind of wean him back into it and see how it goes. We expect him to do even a little bit more tomorrow. That’s all I really have to say about that.”

Saban’s latest update is consistent with what he said earlier Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference. He said Young was able to practice a little bit, but didn’t have much more of an update from there.

“There’s really nothing there to tell you,” Saban said. “He’s making progress and he’s been able to practice some. We’ll continue to evaluate him as the week progresses.”

Saban and his squad didn’t need Young to beat Texas A&M in Week 6 ,but the 24-20 score was a little too close for comfort. After the game, the legendary headman said his starter would have liked to play, but he wasn’t quite there yet. Saban told reporters that he has made “a lot of progress” since last Saturday.

“I didn’t think that he was in a position that he could go and effectively do his job the way he’s capable of doing it,” Saban said. “He’s made a lot of progress from that point.”

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this report.