Pair of Alabama Linemen Banged Up During Fall Camp

Two potential starters for the Crimson Tide were held out of Saturday's scrimmage due to injury, according to head coach Kalen DeBoer.

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Right guard Jaeden Roberts had gotten banged up during the week, resulting in him being held out of Saturday's scrimmage. DeBoer said he does not expect Roberts' injury to be a long-term issue, but did not provide a timeline for his return to play.

"Jaeden Roberts is still dinged up," DeBoer said. "He got, middle of the week, just stuff we're dealing with, and keep evaluating him. Don't expect it will be a long-term thing, but don't know his timeline necessarily."

Roberts started 12 games for Alabama last season, only missing the Tide's 52-7 victory over Mercer.

DeBoer also said defensive lineman James Smith is dealing with an injury as well, and as a result, he did not scrimmage on Saturday.

"James Smith continues to come along and likes the progress that he's showing. He didn't scrimmage - neither one of those guys scrimmaged. For the most part, we're in a good spot."

"DeBoer calls the injuries a 'blessing in disguise,' allowing Alabama to build better depth along the front lines.

"I think a lot of what we went through in the spring has really helped us," DeBoer said. "I was hoping it was going to be a blessing in disguise, but I think we're building some depth, and when we don't have a guy out there, you feel good not just about that replacement or who's competing for those spots, but also the guys are now moving up the depth chart maybe from a three to a two, and so forth. Blessing in disguise, maybe. We're building depth in both the spring and fall."

You can watch Kalen DeBoer's full press conference from the first scrimmage of Fall camp here.

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_.