Non-contact injuries have affected Alabama’s defense in the last two years.
It dealt with having the linebacker position eviscerated in 2017, and following a 57-7 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium over Arkansas State, head coach Nick Saban updated the media on two more medical mishaps.
While one is minor, he said the team doctors ‘did not feel optimistic’ about the other one and that a magnetic resonance imaging or MRI had to be done immediately.
“Jalyn Armour-Davis hurt his knee in pre-game warmups,” Saban said after the game. “They will do an MRI on him tomorrow to figure it out, but it does not seem good. He has been doing a good job. We felt really good about him. He would be the fifth corner on our team and we really felt good about all three freshmen, but we’ll see how this injury plays out.”
As for defensive end Isaiah Buggs, Saban said he twisted his ankle last week and re-aggravated the injury on Saturday. Although the Tide could have placed him back in the action, Buggs was held out for precautionary reasons. He finished the day with five total tackles, including one for loss and one sack.
Since the presser, reports have surfaced on Armour-Davis missing the rest of the season.
He was seen on crutches after warmups. Hailing from Mobile, Ala., Armour-Davis was one of the top prospects in the state of Alabama and a tabbed a four-star cornerback by almost every major recruiting outlet.
The 6-foot-1, 181-pounder will require surgery and Alabama fans hope the product of Saint Paul’s Episcopal High School can make a full recovery. He joins outside linebackers Terrell Lewis and Christopher Allen as the third defensive player set to miss time.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
