Alabama head coach Nick Saban gave some concrete and unfortunate updates on injured running back Roydell and wide receiver JoJo Earle who left the team’s previous game against New Mexico State with injuries.
Earle will only be missing a few weeks and will have a chance to return for postseason play, but Williams will be lost for the season.
“We lost two guys. JoJo will be out two or three weeks probably. Roydell is going to be out for the duration (of the season),” Saban said on his Thursday radio show.
The loss of Williams is a crushing blow for the Crimson Tide as it is down to only two healthy running backs on its roster in Brian Robinson and Trey Sanders. Saban already had wide receiver Christian Leary and linebacker Demouy Kennedy transition to running back in emergency roles. Now the team is calling upon another receiver to join the running backs room.
“We knew every player and what positions they played in high school,” Saban said.” Like Christian Leary played some running back in high school even though he’s kind of a slot receiver and a runner. Demouy Kennedy played some, Slade Bolden was a running quarterback as well as a running back so he’s a guy that we’ve also trained at that position even though we didn’t play him at that position any in the game.
“So all the guys that we are training to be running backs from other positions were guys that played that position in high school or had some background in playing that position at some point in time.”
Willaims is the second Alabama running back who suffered a season-ending injury as fellow back Jase McClellan was lost for the year after suffering a knee injury against Ole Miss. Freshman running back Camar Wheaton hasn’t seen the field at all this year as he continues to rehab a meniscus injury suffered at the beginning of fall camp.
The stacking of injuries to the running backs room puts more and more responsibility on the shoulders of starting running back Brian Robinson who is having a career season. Although he likely didn’t plan on a large chunk of his teammates being injured, the senior is prepared for whatever workload will be asked of him for the remainder of the year.
“Whatever is necessary,” Robinson said on Wednesday when asked about his carries. “I feel like I’m preparing myself. I’m ready for whatever it is I need to do to help this team and be effective to this offense. So if it’s 20 carries, 30 carries, I’m ready for whatever.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
