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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s secondary took another step toward returning to full strength on Wednesday as Tony Brown returned to practice for the first time this week. Brown, who suffered a sprained knee against Texas A&M, was wearing a brace on his left knee and appeared limited during the workout.
“He was able to do some stuff in practice today,” Saban said. “His position is probably a little tougher to play with a sprained knee. He runs straight ahead pretty well, but the change of direction, the stopping and starting, redirecting, those are probably the most difficult things.
“He’s actually made faster progress than I had hoped, so that’s very encouraging. Whether he’ll be able to do enough to be able to have a role in this game, we’ll probably have to wait and see. If he can do a little more tomorrow, that will be even more encouraging.”
Brown was injured during the third quarter when he was filling in for starter Levi Wallace at left cornerback. Brown typically plays at the Star position when the Crimson Tide works out of the dime package. Wednesday, he was shadowing behind Minkah Fitzpatrick at Star, while Hootie Jones took over Fitzpatrick’s role at Money. Freshman Xavier McKinney filled in at safety beside Ronnie Harrison, while Wallace and Anthony Averett played at cornerback.
Part of the reason Brown was working at cornerback last week was due to the absence of backup Trevon Diggs, who suffered a foot injury against Ole Miss and missed the game against Texas A&M. Diggs returned to practice on Monday and has not appeared to be limited.
While the return of Brown and Diggs would certainly be welcomed additions this week, Alabama was dealt some bad news as backup offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy will be out for an “extended period of time” after sustaining an ankle injury in practice Tuesday. Saban said the injury required surgery but did not give an exact timetable for the offensive lineman’s return. Kennedy, a redshirt sophomore played in three games this season.
In other injury news, starting defensive end Da’Shawn Hand has been absent during the media viewing periods for all three of Alabama’s practices this week after missing last week’s game against Texas A&M. Hand left the game against Ole Miss two weeks ago after suffering an MCL strain. When asked about Hand’s status Wednesday, Saban said he was unsure of when the defensive lineman would return.
“I can’t really make that call, it’s a medical decision,” Saban said. “I know he’s doing well, all reports are positive. He won’t play in this game, and we’ll take it week-to-week from there.”
