Saban provides injury report heading into Week 11
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama head coach Nick Saban confirmed Monday that Shaun Dion Hamilton will be out for the remainder while leaving the door open for a possible return from fellow inside linebacker Mack Wilson later in the season. Both players had successful surgeries Sunday after picking up injuries during the Crimson Tide’s 24-10 victory over LSU over the weekend.
Hamilton suffered a broken right kneecap early in the third quarter, while Wilson broke his foot in the second quarter and had to be carted off to the locker room with 2:52 remaining in the half.
“Shaun Dion had a successful surgery and this is something he’ll be able to respond to in a few months and hopefully be able to come back and have an opportunity do some things to extend his career,” Saban said. “Mack had foot injury that will probably put him out 4-6 weeks, something like that. We’ll just have to play it by ear and see how fast it heals.”
Saban went on to say Alabama has a few other players who were “nicked up” and would not practice Monday. One of those players is defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who appeared to suffer a hamstring injury while breaking up a would-be touchdown pass on LSU’s first possession of the game.
Fitzpatrick returned to the field the next possession but then had to leave the game again. From there he spent most of the remainder of the game on the sidelines, only coming in certain packages.
“He’s not going to practice today, but we think he’ll be able to do some work tomorrow,” Saban said.
Other players who appeared to pick up knocks during the game include linebackers Jamey Mosley and Mekhi Brown as well as defensive back Tony Brown
Hamilton’s season-ending injury is his second in as many years, as he tore his ACL in the same knee during the SEC Championship Game last season. Through nine games this season, he was tied for second on the team with 40 tackles and had 5.5 tackles for a loss with 2.5 sacks. Hamilton also had two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
“Shaun Dion has a tremendous amount of experience, he’s a great competitor, he’s tough,” Saban said. “He’s probably one of the smarter players we’ve had around here in my time being here, in terms of being able to make adjustments, being able to make calls, helping other players being able to do better because of his ability to do those types of things. He’s a good leader, so there’s a lot of things he does extremely well, and he’s a really productive player.”
Wilson was not a starter but was a big part of Alabama’s “Dime Rabbits” package. He had 21 tackles, .5 for a loss, and three quarterback hurries. He is also tied for the team lead in interceptions with three.
Now Alabama will look to turn to redshirt junior Keith Holcombe as well as true freshman Dylan Moses to take on bigger roles on defense. Against LSU, Holcombe had four tackles, including one for a loss, while Moses tallied two tackles with 1 and a half sacks.
Monday, Saban said Moses will have an opportunity to see more playing time following the two injuries.
“We still have two guys, Keith Holcombe and Rashaan Evans who have played a significant amount of football around here that have experience, but Dylan’s made a lot of progress throughout the season and I think he has a lot better understanding of what to do and how to do it,” Saban said. “I think he would be the next guy up for us to get ready to play at that position. We’ll have to bring some younger guys in to provide some depth.”
The loss of the two linebackers further weakens a unit that was already without outside linebackers Christian Miller (torn bicep) and Terrell Lewis (torn ligament in elbow) who were injured during the season-opener against Florida State. While both injuries were thought at the time to be season-ending, Saban provided some encouragement on a possible return during his weekly radio show last week.
“Look, they had pretty serious injuries, both guys. Both guys are doing extremely well,” Saban said last week. “And we leave it completely up to the medical staff every time somebody’s injured, as to what the protocol is for when they can come back.
“These injuries were probably two and a half to three-month sort of healing time injuries, so that means maybe sometime this month or at the end of this month, they might say these guys are medically cleared to start to participate again. Which means they could start practicing but it may take them a while before they ever could play.”
No. 2 Alabama (9-0, 6-0 in the SEC) will travel to No. 16 Mississippi State (7-2, 3-2) at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday. The Crimson Tide can clinch its fourth straight SEC West title with a win paired with an Auburn loss to Georgia.