Nick Saban provides injury updates on DJ Dale, Jaheim Oatis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama was missing its top two nose guards against Mississippi State last Saturday, as DJ Dale and Jaheim Oatis were both dealing with injuries. On the Monday following the Crimson Tide’s bye week, Nick Saban provided updates on both defensive linemen ahead of the LSU road game this weekend.
According to the head coach, they’re going to return to practice this week to see how they do.
“I think both guys are going to start back to practice this week,” Saban told reporters during his Monday media availability. “We’ll kinda determine how they do during the course of the week and what their availability will be when the game comes.”
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Dale has been a key veteran presence for Alabama’s defensive line this season.
Through his time in Tuscaloosa dating back to 2019, the senior has played 1,285 snaps in 43 games. That includes 193 snaps in seven games so far this year. He’s already matched his sack total from a season ago (2.0) while doubling his total pressures from five to 10.
Meanwhile, Oatis is still relatively new to the college level. He was originally a top-100 prospect in the On3 Consensus rankings for 2022 coming out of Columbia High School in Mississippi. After arriving on campus north of 400 pounds, the hard-to-move defender got down to 342 and even became a co-starter on the initial depth chart release back in August.
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Since then, he’s started five of the seven games he’s participated in this season. So far, Oatis has racked up 20 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack while also adding a batted pass and four total QB pressures. He’s played almost as many snaps as Dale with 173, too.
In their absence against Mississippi State, fellow Alabama defensive linemen Jamil Burroughs and Jah-Marien Latham both saw career-highs in snaps with 38 and 33, respectively. Obviously, Tim Smith and Byron Young also continued to be involved as two of the starters.
Getting Dale and Oatis back for the next two games could be big, however.
LSU continues to get better on offense, and Alabama is playing them in Baton Rouge at night.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss fields the nation’s No. 3 rushing offense while averaging 267.22 yards per game. They’re led by a dynamic 1-2 punch including true freshman Quinshon Judkins (1,034 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns) and TCU transfer Zach Evans (680 yards, 7 touchdowns).
