Alabama LB Deontae Lawson may miss multiple games, per report
Alabama will be without linebacker Deontae Lawson in its road game against Mississippi State, according to ESPN senior writer Chris Low, and the Crimson Tide’s defensive signal-caller could miss multiple games because of his sprained ankle, Low reported on Friday.
Austin Hannon of BamaCentral first reported that Lawson would not play Saturday.
Lawson exited last week’s Ole Miss game early in the second quarter, and after spending time in the medical tent, he walked to the locker room with a limp and did not return to the game. The redshirt sophomore registered one tackle and one hurry prior to his injury.
Through the first four games, Lawson is second on the Alabama defense with 26 tackles and is third in both sacks (2.0) and tackles for loss (3.5). The redshirt sophomore from Mobile, Ala., is also responsible for two quarterback hurries while quarterbacking the Tide defense.
After the 24-10 win over the Rebels, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said the sprained ankle was “a pretty good one” and did not know exactly how long it would take Lawson to respond. On Wednesday, Saban said Lawson – as well as offensive guard Terrence Ferguson – was unable to practice and deemed the linebacker as “very questionable” for the game.
With Lawson out, Alabama turned to a trio of linebackers in the middle of its defense – Trezmen Marshall, Jihaad Campbell and Kendrick Blackshire. Campbell finished second on the team with seven tackles, while Marshall and Blackshire tallied three each. With Lawson reportedly out for the game at Mississippi State, Campbell is set to make his first start.
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“We played most of the game this last week with Jihaad playing and Trezmen playing, so that’ll be the way that we go,” said Saban to begin Mississippi State week on Monday. “Obviously, the depth at that position is going to become critical for us if Deontae can’t go, and we’ll keep working with these guys and try to get them ready to go this week.”
Alabama has used a rotation at inside linebacker to begin the 2023 season, so all three players have had opportunities to play alongside Lawson through the first four games. With the possibility of the redshirt sophomore missing multiple games, others need to step up to make up for the loss in the middle of the defense. Their teammates are confident they will.
“I think they did a great job of coming in and taking control of their position, and I think they did a great job of communicating with the line and the secondary,” said Alabama senior defensive back Malachi Moore, who makes calls for the secondary. I think they’re going to do a good job.”
Alabama will travel to Mississippi State on Saturday, Sept. 30, for an 8 p.m. CT kick on ESPN. The Tide then faces Texas A&M, Arkansas and Tennessee before its Week 9 bye week.
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