Alabama Injury Updates Ahead of Starkville Road Trip

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- On Monday, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer provided injury updates on six Crimson Tide players, including offensive linemen William Sanders and Jayvin James, who both departed Saturday's win over South Carolina in the second half.

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Alabama closed out Saturday's matchup with South Carolina with Mal Waldrep Jr. filling in for William Sanders at left guard and JUCO transfer Tyrell Miller filling in for Jayvin James at right tackle. DeBoer's update on junior William Sanders was encouraging, while senior Jayvin James' status is in more doubt than his offensive line counterpart.

"Will [Sanders], upper-body injury during the game. I would expect that he would be able to play on Saturday. So, we’re working through it here, but I would expect that he’ll be ready to go," DeBoer told reporters on Monday.

"And it just kind of depends on what the week looks like. And then, Jayvin [James], lower extremity. I would say he’s very much questionable at this time. And so, again, we’ll see how the next 24, 48 hours [go]. I think that will help kind of understand what that looks like at the end of the week. But I would say he’s very questionable at this time.”

Linebackers Justin Hill (sophomore) and Desmond Umeozulu (senior) both missed Alabama's 49-18 victory over South Carolina with lower-body injuries, and DeBoer said both would continue to miss time, with a more positive update on Hill's eventual return to action.

"Both of them will continue to miss some time. Justin will not be as long. Des will be a little further into the season," DeBoer said. "Justin is a lower-extremity, as well as Des. Both happened in the Florida State game. Those guys obviously played valuable snaps for us. Gonna get some other guys to play some snaps that haven’t got as many reps, and other guys that are on the field played more snaps. So, just it’s unfortunate for those guys because they’re playing some good football for us.”

Safety Zavier Mincey and offensive lineman Ty Haywood were not spotted dressed during Saturday's win over South Carolina.

"Ty is with us. Ty is with us," he said. "Zay just had an injury that popped up during pregame. He was dressed early. He had an injury during pregame there that popped back up. We were expecting him to play, for sure. I would expect he is ready to go this weekend."

Haywood, a sophomore from Ryan, Texas, has yet to appear in a game for the Crimson Tide this season after transferring in from Michigan after his freshman season. Mincey, a junior from Daytona Beach, Florida, appeared in the Tide's first two games of the season.

No. 7 Alabama will travel to Starkville, Mississippi, for a date with the No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, October 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on ABC.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.