Texas A&M DB Jaylon Jones is 'doing fine,' Jimbo Fisher says

Texas A&M is preparing to take on No. 1 Alabama in a game many had considered the probable game of the year entering the 2022 season. Whether the Aggies will have one of their top defenders is a bit up in the air following cornerback Jaylon Jones‘ injury against Mississippi State over the weekend.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher provided a brief injury update on Monday.

“Seems to be doing fine,” Fisher said. “Seems to be doing really fine. Yeah, he’ll be day to day.”

Jones exited a 42-24 loss at Mississippi State in the first quarter after being shaken up. He was tended to on the field for a few minutes before walking into the team’s injury tent.

He did not return.

“I’m going to say this: It doesn’t help when you lose one of your best, best players or the best, tremendous corner you have,” Fisher said. “It doesn’t help in that. But again, that’s football and that happens. You have plans for that and you have contingencies and you have other players you have to play and they’re good players.”

Jaylon Jones’ injury came at an inopportune time

You never want anyone to get hurt. If you’re coaching a team, you certainly don’t want a defensive back getting hurt against Mike Leach‘s Air Raid offense.

With Jones out in the secondary, the Bulldogs dissected the Aggies’ short-handed defensive backfield. Quarterback Will Rogers threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in the win.

“I mean that’s just part of the game,” Fisher said. “Sometimes those injuries help you and sometimes they don’t.”

The silver lining coaches sometimes refer to when an injury happens to a key player is the chance to develop additional depth. Whether the Aggies will benefit from any of that against the Crimson Tide remains to be seen.

With Jaylon Jones’ injury earning him a day-to-day designation by Fisher, there’s a chance he’ll suit up on Saturday.

It’s not entirely clear who he’d face at quarterback if he did, following Bryce Young’s shoulder injury against Arkansas over the weekend and a Nick Saban rant on how he certainly didn’t intend to reveal anything about the quarterback situation ahead of Saturday’s contest.

In any case, Texas A&M and Alabama will meet at 8 p.m. ET in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday in a game broadcast nationally on CBS. Following Fisher and Saban exchanging barbs over the summer, you can probably count on a few more sparks flying Saturday night.