A group of four offensive players is working its way back to full health this spring, as injuries forced them to miss playing time and the BCS National Championship game.
Wide receivers Kenny Bell and DeAndrew White and running backs Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart all suffered leg injuries that cut their seasons short in 2012. They now have something to prove as they prepare for the 2013-14 season.
Bell caught 17 passes for 431 yards and three touchdowns before he broke his leg in Alabama’s regular season finale against Auburn. Before his injury, he provided quarterback AJ McCarron a speedy, downfield target.
He said the process of coming back from an injury is grueling but the competition at receiver is pushing him to work harder.
“I’m getting there by putting in work and working hard with the trainers and going out there competing every day to just get me back there,” Bell said.
Bell said he also feels he must be a leader for the younger players, especially the young receivers.
“It’s coming along,” he said. “I have my good days and bad days. But by me being the older, leader receiver, I just push through it, fight through it to get myself back.”
Bell’s fellow receiver DeAndrew White suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of the Ole Miss game. White had eight receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns on the season before the injury. He was a favorite option for McCarron last season in short-yardage situations.
In the Crimson Tide’s first situational scrimmage of the spring, White, who will look to regain his spot in the starting lineup amongst a deep crop of receivers, showed he was recovering well from his injury. He led the team with seven catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
He said he feels comfortable being back on the field.
“I feel good about all my catches, honestly,” White said. “Every catch I get is another opportunity for me to show what I have.”
White was not the only player that suffered a knee injury against Ole Miss. Dee Hart also fell with a knee injury that kept him out for the entire season.
Hart carried the ball 21 times for 88 yards. He was a major contributor for the Tide, even though majority of his rushing attempts came late in games. Hart was also a key player on special teams.
“Dee Hart was probably the most effective punt returner when he did it,” head coach Nick Saban said.
Jalston Fowler, who left the Western Kentucky game with a knee injury, worked alongside Hart and White to come back from their injuries together.
“By the time me and Dee got out of surgery, Jalston was already out of surgery, and he was already doing rehab,” White said. “That was a little bit encouraging for him and us. We saw somebody that had already been in surgery, [somebody] that had already known about it.”
Fowler accumulated 85 yards on 11 carries in his shortened season. He had established himself as a punishing fullback and the third running back, alongside Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon.
The trio of White, Hart and Fowler worked together to strengthen their knees, but they are now faced with battling for playing time next season. They will have to compete against players that contributed all of last season, as well as the hungry freshmen who want to see the field early in their careers.
“We always worked together in rehab, even outside of rehab we hang out and everything like that,” White said. “We went through the journey together. It was good to have them with me, not doing it by myself.”
