The biggest thought Alabama football has for Saturday is will its talented left tackle make his 2024 season debut.
Kadyn Proctor suffered a left shoulder injury in pregame warmups before facing Western Kentucky.
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The former five-star made the Freshman All-SEC Team in 2023 for his efforts. He returned to the University of Alabama in the summer via the NCAA transfer portal after deciding to leave the Crimson Tide for Iowa upon Nick Saban retiring.
Kalen DeBoer is unsure as to whether Proctor will play versus South Florida; however, he stated on Wednesday’s airing of “Hey Coach” that the team had ‘no panic’ when Proctor got hurt. Elijah Pritchett, a native of Columbus, Ga., took reps at left tackle during spring practice and jumped in for Proctor against the Hilltoppers. The 6-foot-6, 327-pounder had some struggles, but he settled in as the game went on. Pritchett allowed a sack, yet he helped the Tide to a 63-0 victory to open the DeBoer era.
“There was no panic across the board.”
– Coach @KalenDeBoer on how @AlabamaFTBL players handled OL injury news before WKU#RollTide | @Alfa_Insurance pic.twitter.com/gGTbxhuzNi— Crimson Tide Sports Network (@UA_CTSN) September 5, 2024
“We had some guys thrown into the mix, Pritchett in particular, thinking he’s going to be competing, playing at right tackle and minutes before the game he’s going back to where he was all spring,” DeBoer said.
“That took a little bit to get use to for him, but I think he really settled in. What I really liked was there was no panic across the board. Not just him, not just the offensive line, but Jalen (Milroe), and everyone else hit it all in stride. They all had confidence.”
Pritchett bought in to the next man up mentality, and he may have to do it again this weekend.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
