Alabama will use all of the time given to it when deciding the availability of running back Brian Robinson ahead of the SEC Championship Game.
Head coach Nick Saban made an appearance on SEC Network on Friday and gave the latest update on Robinson and how he will be evaluated ahead of the game.
“B-Rob will be kind of a pregame decision,” Saban said. “We’ll see how he does in pregame. He did practice a little yesterday, but not enough to really know how he would be, couldn’t really open it up and see. We always ask the player if they think they can go in there and do their job, and certainly, he’s been a great player for us all year long and is a real important part of our offense. But yet, we’re gonna make the decision based on his future.”
Robinson suffered a pulled muscle in his leg during the team’s previous game against Auburn where he was forced to leave late in the matchup.
This season, Robinson has been a force in the backfield for Alabama as he’s been the best and most consistent back posting 1,016 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns while catching 29 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
Losing Robinson would be another major blow for a depleted Crimson Tide backfield that would have just one healthy scholarship running back in Trey Sanders should he not be able to go against Georgia. Sanders filled in for Robinson against the Tigers where he recorded 10 carries for 26 yards in the 24-22 win.
“Trey has been through a lot,” Saban said to the media on Thursday. “I think everybody knows the adversity he’s had to overcome with an injury, car accident. And I do think that it took a while for him to get confidence in himself physically that he could go out there and do the things that he’s capable of that he could do in the past. But I also think that the opportunities he’s had to play this year, the role that he has, a more significant role now, has also helped him develop confidence.”
Saban has also converted a few other players on the roster into emergency options at running back, which includes linebacker Demouy Kennedy and wide receivers Christian Leary and Slade Bolden.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
