Following Alabama’s 24-21 win over Arkansas, head coach Nick Saban provided a few injury updates from the contest.
Linebacker Trezmen Marshall and CJ Dippre had to leave the game at different points for the Crimson Tide but Saban shared that as of after the game the extent of the injuries is unknown.
“I don’t think they’re hurt bad,” Saban said. “One guy’s got a pulled muscle. The other guy’s got bruised ribs. I can’t tell you the extent of the injuries. I don’t even think we know that yet.”
Dippre exited the game in the second quarter and did not return to action and was replaced by Danny Lewis.
Marshall went down in the fourth quarter of play and prior to his injury had recorded five tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss. Stepping in for Marshall for the remainder of the game was Jihaad Campbell.
Alabama was hopeful to get back Malachi Moore who suffered an ankle sprain last week against Texas A&M. Moore did warm up with the team prior to kickoff but was held out of the game as Terrion Arnold was moved over from outside corner to Star with Trey Amos coming off the bench to start.
Despite missing this week, Saban is hopeful that Moore will be able to return to the team soon.
“Malachi actually even went out and warmed up today. We weren’t going to play him in the game, but he’s getting close,” Saban said. “So hopefully, he’ll continue to make progress.”
Saban has described Moore as Alabama’s best communicator and is one of the leaders on the team, but he thought that Arnold, Amos, Kristian Story and Caleb Downs all stepped up to fill the void.
“Malachi’s a huge asset for us because he’s the most experienced player in the interior to make calls and make adjustments,” Saban said. “And I do think the guys played better having a week of preparation than we did a week ago. It was tough when he went out because everybody hadn’t practiced enough at those positions to do the things we needed to do. But I thought both guys did a pretty good job today.
“We actually played Caleb when they in, what we call, silver people, which is 12 personnel, two tights and two wides. We played Caleb at Star, a little bigger guy, a little more physical against the runs. And when we played against three wideouts more, we played nickel where Terrion was the Star. I think Kristian Story stepped up and did a pretty good job out there. Trey did a pretty good job for us. Those guys were able to take advantage of their opportunities.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
