When you get halfway though an SEC schedule, your team will more than likely have injuries. This week, Alabama will be going to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with several players in question or out of the game. Wednesday after practice, coach Nick Saban announced that running backs B.J. Emmons and Bo Scarbrough missed practice.
Emmons, a freshman, sprained his foot and is out indefinitely for the game, while Scarbrough is out with a sickness. Saban said Scarbrough, a sophomore, is not badly sick and could potentially play on Saturday. He has 306 yards and five touchdowns this season on 51 attempts. Scarbrough’s carries have been increasing over the last few weeks behind freshman Joshua Jacobs and fellow sophomore Damien Harris.
Joining Emmons and Scarbrough are of course Eddie Jackson and Alphonse Taylor. Jackson was diagnosed with a fractured leg and will miss the entire season. Jackson was the starting safety and totaled 24 tackles. Jackson also had an interception returned for a touchdown and two punts returned for touchdowns. Sophomore Minkah Fitzpatrick will move from corner to safety, while junior Tony Brown will start at corner. Brown spent the first part of the season on a suspension from the NCAA.
“Tony Brown has done a good job for us. He’s working hard. He’s a really good competitor,” Saban said. “The challenge is to stay focused on the things that you need to do to do your job well. He’s done a pretty good job of that this week. I think he appreciates the opportunity that he has and wants to make the most of it.”
Taylor, who has started games at right guard, sustained a concussion against Arkansas. Lester Cotton has replaced him in the past two games.
“[Taylor is] at practice. He’s just not able to do a whole lot. Until he feels like he doesn’t have any issues, relative to being able to do a little bit of activity – he does do individual drills –and we kind of take it from there,” Saban said. “He’s still day-to-day, and will stay that way until the medical staff feels that he’s ok to come back into the lineup. “
Other quotes:
On senior defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson:
“He’s certainly represented the program in a first-class way,” Saban said. “He got bigger and stronger and was very productive for us a year ago and he’s been even more productive for us this year. We’re really pleased with not only the player but also the person, the student and how he’s represented the institution.”
On timing in passing game:
“I think that timing is very important in the passing game. I think it’s important for us to get more out of the good skill players that we have in terms of their production and ability to make big plays,” Saban said. “I think it’s going to be important for us down the stretch here, in this game and every other game we play, that we can do that a little better than what we’ve done in the past. I think we’ve made some progress over during practice and this bye week.”
