The Alabama football season is very close to starting, and one of the Crimson Tide’s top incoming freshmen is likely out for the season.
This part of the season is the worst for Alabama football.
The few weeks where the team is practicing but no games are being played always seem to bring headlines that no one wants. This happened again, as it appears Trey Sanders will be out for the season with a foot injury, per Matt Zenitz.
Alabama five-star freshman running back Trey Sanders suffered a significant foot injury on the last play of the team’s practice Thursday night and is expected to miss the entire season, per sources https://t.co/1dyDuKijYR
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) August 10, 2019
Sanders was projected to be the third option at running back, but that does not mean that his loss will be easy to manage. The Tide currently don’t have a proven receiving back, and Sanders was expected to fill that role.
There isn’t a bright side to losing a five-star talent for the season, but Alabama is still loaded at the running back position. The duo this year will be Najee Harris, a former five-star, and Brian Robinson. He hasn’t gotten many touches in big games, but he appears to be ready to take on the new role.
In a recent interview, Nick Saban said that B-Rob was one of the players from last season who deserved more in his role. Earning praise this high from Saban heading into a season shows that he expects you to be ready for a bigger role.
Behind the duo, players like Jerome Ford and Keilan Robinson will be expected to step up. It’s rare for younger players to get a lot of time at running back, but they should at least see the field late in blowouts.
Looking ahead, this injury will give Sanders another year of eligibility. Even if he is ready by the end of the season, he will be redshirted. He could still easily leave as a redshirt sophomore down the line, but he will have the eligibility if he wants to stay until he is a fifth-year senior.
Injuries are always tough to overcome. If any other teams lost a five-star running back, their hopes for a championship would likely be gone. We’re still months from the end of the year, but it appears as if the Tide have the depth to overcome the injury.