Nick Saban updates injury status of Darrian Dalcourt

Alabama defeated LSU on Saturday, but offensive lineman Darrian Dalcourt left the showdown with an injury. Earlier this week, Saban described the injury as a sprained ankle, but was hopeful he would be able to play in this week’s game against New Mexico State.

“He does have a lateral ankle sprain,” Saban said of Dalcourt’s condition on Monday. “We don’t know … he’s day-to-day right now. I don’t know what his status will be for this game.. It just depends on how he progresses through this week.”

Since then, Dalcourt has been attempting to tough it out at practice. In a Wednesday press conference, Saban provided an update on the injury status of Dalcourt.

“He’s still day-to-day,” stated Saban. “I can’t really make a call right now. He’s not able to do some things in practice tomorrow, he dressed out today. Didn’t really do a whole lot. If he can do some things tomorrow then maybe he can play in the game. We’ll have to just wait and see.”

Dalcourt exited the victory over LSU in the first quarter with the aforementioned sprained ankle. A 6-foot-3, 300-pounder who was a four-star recruit out of the Class of 2019, Dalcourt’s presence along the offensive line is vital.

Saban: ‘Sometimes it’s not so easy.’

Dalcourt was forced to watch helplessly as his teammates were embroiled in a battle with LSU. While many expected the Crimson Tide to roll over the Tigers, Saban realizes that it’s not always easy in college football.

Crimson Tide fans expect their team to win week-by-week – and by a lot of points. After the Tide beat LSU by just six points Saturday night with a 20-14 win, Saban had a message for the fanbase.

“I know that sometimes we have an expectation that we’re going to win easy, but sometimes it’s not so easy,” Saban said. “I think it’s difficult to win in this conference and I think it’s difficult to win week-in and week-out. You’ve got to play your best – we probably didn’t play our best in some areas of the team – and we’ve got to get more consistency in how we play.”

Alabama certainly wasn’t at its best against LSU, as it allowed the Tigers to score the first points of the game and lead 7-0 after the opening quarter. The Crimson Tide also gave up 295 total yards and let LSU go 5-for-7 on third down.

While its overall performance wasn’t the best, Alabama – which is currently ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 – still won, moved to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in SEC play, and will remain in the CFP top four this week – no question.