Nick Saban provides injury update on trio of Alabama players
No. 2 Alabama is only days away from playing a road matchup against a top-20 Arkansas team. With the game drawing near, it’s time for the Crimson Tide coaching staff to start finalizing which players will or won’t be available for the game and in what capacity.
Right now, there are three key injuries that have been the focus this week, which includes defensive lineman Byron Young, safety Jordan Battle and wide receiver JoJo Earle. On Wednesday, Alabama coach Nick Saban shared injury updates on all three players, starting with the two defenders.
“Both guys (Young and Battle) practiced some today. So hopefully they’ll both be ready for the game, but it’s day-to-day,” Saban told reporters. “When you have these kinds of injuries, it’s always how do they feel the next day. So we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”
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Young and Battle have each been pivotal parts of the Alabama defense for multiple seasons.
Through the first four games in 2022, Battle has played the second-most defensive snaps (219), only trailing fellow safety DeMarcco Hellams by one. Meanwhile, Young has seen more snaps this season than any other Alabama defensive linemen. He’s played 127 while Justin Eboigbe is sitting in second with 117.
Their impact goes well beyond just this season, however.
Young has logged over 1,100 career snaps while Battle has played over 2,400. Not having those two players available in a tough road contest against the Razorbacks would certainly be a blow to the defense. We’ll have to see how those two progess over the next couple of days.
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The other injured played is Earle, a sophomore pass-catcher who many expected to have a breakout season. The 5-foot-10, 177-pound wide receiver has been out since early August with a foot injury, but it sounds like he’s closing in on a return to the game field. That return could be as soon as this Saturday against Arkansas.
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“He’s practiced this week, but again, everything’s day-to-day with these guys that are coming off injuries,” Saban said. It’s not just always about what they were able to do today but how does it affect tomorrow. So, we’ll see. He is on a day-to-day basis and have to make a decision about that tomorrow.”
It sounds like Thursday is going to be an important day for the Alabama trio.
Alabama prefers having Jermaine Burton, Traeshon Holden and Ja’Corey Brooks all playing as outside receivers. With the injury to Earle, however, the staff has been forced to play all of those guys, especially Burton, in the slot. We’ve also seen true freshman Kobe Prentice see plenty of action as a slot starter.
Once Earle returns, it will allow Burton, Holden and Brooks to play more in the roles they’re comfortable in.
