Alabama didn’t leave the Cotton Bowl completely unscathed.
Offensive lineman Emil Ekiyor left Friday’s game against Cincinnati in the second quarter with what appeared to be an upper-body injury. Ekiyor was immediately sent to the team’s medical tent and would later leave for the locker room and did not return to the game.
Following the 27-6 victory over the Bearcats, head coach Nick Saban shed some light on Ekiyor’s situation and where the team currently views him at this point.
“He’s got a shoulder injury,” Saban said to the media over Zoom. “We think that, you know, he’s got a chance to to be able to come back and play in the (championship) game, but it’s probably too early to know. It depends on how he responds. Our medical staff will do a great job with all the players that were injured in the game. And hopefully, we’ll be able to get most of them ready to play.”
His mom Andrea, also provided an update on Emil shortly after it was announced that he would not return to the game.
Thank you everyone for your prayers. He's good 🙌🏽
— Andrea Ekiyor 😘 #55 🐘 (@AndreaEkiyor) December 31, 2021
Ekiyor was replaced by true freshman J.C. Latham who played the most snaps of his career to date.
Despite Ekiyor’s absence for a majority of the game, the Crimson Tide dominated upfront rushing for a team total of 301 yards with running back Brian Robinson accounting for 204 yards by himself.
**This post will be updated.**
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
