Latest on Jaylen Key, Malachi Moore and Emmanuel Henderson to start Texas week

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama head coach Nick Saban kicked off Texas week by providing updates on defensive backs Jaylen Key and Malachi Moore who left Saturday’s opener.

“They’re both day-to-day,” Saban said. “It’s probably too early to tell what their circumstance will be. It’ll probably be a couple days and we’ll figure it out. But I don’t think either guy has long-term issues, but it’ll be interesting to see how they progress this week.”

Shortly after intercepting a pass that led to Alabama’s fourth touchdown of the game, Key left the field gingerly after covering the ensuing kickoff. Once Tide trainers attended to the starting free safety, he walked to the locker room just before halftime and did not return.

Alabama’s lead ballooned to 35-0, and during an Alabama punt return, Moore was slow to get up and visited the sideline medical tent. He eventually exited the field and did not return.

When Key left the game, he was replaced at in the back end of the defense by Kristian Story. When Moore went down with his injury, Trey Amos came off the Crimson Tide sideline to play cornerback, while Terrion Arnold – who started at cornerback – moved to Star.

On Monday, Saban was asked about Story, Amos and Earl Little II stepping in Saturday.

“Some of them played really well,” Saban said. “Some of them have things that they could improve on and sort of didn’t play with the poise that you need to play with – maybe a little anxiety, first game, whatever. But we need all those guys to continue to develop and play well because right now, (DeVonta Smith) is already down and you’ve got two other guys that are not able to practice, at least today. Maybe some day in the near future. 

“So it’s important that we develop young players and that these guys have a chance to develop confidence, which I think just the fact that they got to play in the game should help them to some degree, see what they need to improve on as well as build on the things that they did well.”

Alabama will hold its first practice of Texas week later this afternoon at 3:40 p.m. CT.

The latest on Henderson

Alabama wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson did not play in Saturday’s season opener. He was absent from pregame warmups and later seen on the sideline on crutches. Henderson is in Year 2 with the Crimson Tide after appearing in all 13 games as a freshman in 2022. This preseason, Saban mentioned Henderson as a possibility in the return game as a sophomore.

On Monday, Saban provided an update on Henderson’s status.

“He has a hip injury,” Saban said. “It’s gonna probably be a few more weeks before he gets back into the swing of things but hard to know exactly when. They’ll do some re-checks on him here in the next week or two. He was having a great fall camp, doing a great job on special teams and made a lot of progress as a receiver, so we’d love to get him back.”

The Alabama-Texas game will kick off on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. and air on ESPN.

Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up now for a year’s worth of premium access for 50% OFF! Or you can also gain monthly access for just $1! Get access to premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting content and also join thousands of Crimson Tide fans on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!