Nick Saban expands on previous injury report heading into fall camp

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Three days after claiming he would not provide injury updates during Alabama’s preseason camp, Nick Saban decided to soften his approach.

During the Crimson Tide’s media day Sunday, the head coach provided news on a handful of players who are currently dealing with injuries, expanding on the status of injured tight end Cameron Latu while also revealing injuries to four freshmen including, wide receiver Aaron Anderson, offensive tackle Elijah Pritchett, defensive lineman Isaiah Hastings and defensive back Earl Little Jr.

After announcing Friday that Latu will miss the beginning of camp, Saban revealed that the starting tight end is dealing with a “minor knee injury” and is going to miss “a couple weeks.”

“I don’t know exactly how long that is,” Saban said. “It happened about 10 days ago. These things usually go day to day.”

Later Sunday, offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien praised Latu for his efforts in recovery, stating, "it almost seems like, 12-15 hours a day, working hard to get back." While O'Brien referred to Latu's injury as "unfortunate," he believes Alabama has players ready to step up to fill his place in the tight end room.

“I think Robbie Ouzts has really improved," O'Brien said. "Robbie Ouzts is somebody that’s worked really hard to improve. And then Miles Kitselman, the junior college transfer that’s come in, he’s a hard-working guy. He’s getting used to the way we do things here, but I think he’s a guy that is a solid player that can help us. And then there’s a lot of young guys.

“I don’t wanna get into all the young guys, but there are some young guys at that position that we really believe can help us, too. So we’ve got a number of guys at that position that can take up the slack while Cam is out. They just need to keep working hard and improving.”

Anderson is also dealing with a knee injury with Saban stating that the five-star freshman receiver will “probably be back in a few weeks.” Anderson came to Alabama this spring as the No. 3 wide receiver and No. 23 overall player in this year's recruiting class.

Saban said Pritchett, the No. 1 offensive tackle in this year’s class, tore his pectoral in the weight room earlier in the summer and will “be out for a little while.” The 6-foot-6, 300-pound lineman was rated as the No. 22 overall player in the nation and is thought of as one of Alabama's most promising prospects on the offensive line moving forward.

Little came into Alabama with a lingering shoulder injury. Saban said the team decided to fix the injury while stating the four-star cornerback “will be out for a little while as well.”

Little joined the Crimson Tide as the No. 9 cornerback and No. 83 overall player in this year's class. He is the son of former NFL safety Earl Little Sr.

Saban said Hastings came in with an undisclosed injury that has been fixed, stating the four-star defensive tackle “will be back shortly, probably.” The 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive tackle is rated as the No. 248 player in the nation and joined the team over the summer.

Saban didn't include Louisville transfer receiver Tyler Harrell in his injury report but did allude to the redshirt junior being less than 100% during practices. However, the head coach did not provide a reason for the receiver's limitation.

“Tyler has been sort of in and out a little bit to this point,” Saban said. “He has been able to practice on a daily basis but not 100 percent. I do think that he has shown that he has a lot of ability. We just need to get it channeled in the right direction so that we can use him in a way that’s gonna be most productive for him and for us.”

Alabama has Sunday off from practice before returning to the field next week.