On Saturday, Nick Saban announced that freshman running back Trey Sanders might miss all of 2019 due to a foot injury. He will undergo surgery in the coming days, and will be out indefinitely after the procedure.
Alabama true freshman running back Trey Sanders suffered what team officials fear is a season-ending foot injury Thursday night in practice, sources confirmed to ESPN. https://t.co/EmNqZ80bX8
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 10, 2019
Matt Zenitz of AL.com was the first one to report the news. Sanders had been one of the bright spots of fall camp for Alabama. The true freshman was considered the second-best running back in the Class of 2019 according to ESPN, and he figured to see plenty of time this season. Alabama has a lot of carries to divvy up after Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris left for the NFL at the end of last season, and there was only one proven running back in the backfield.
Sanders was projected to be the second or third team running back at the start of 2019. He had impressed coaches as an early enrollee from IMG Academy, and he was considered the top underclassmen running back on the roster.
With Sanders sidelined for at least most of the season, Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. will receive the lion’s share of the carries for the Crimson Tide. Harris is the team’s leading returning rusher with 783 rushing yards and four touchdowns in 2018, and his 6.7 yards per carry was a higher average than either Jacobs or Damien Harris.
Robinson figures to be a short yardage back with his bruising frame, and he ran for 272 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Those injuries might lead to Alabama airing it out more often than we have seen in the past. While Saban had a tempestuous relationship with Lane Kiffin when he was the Crimson Tide OC, Kiffin was the first to open things up, and Saban has been more amenable to the passing game over the past few years.
Alabama has a Heisman Trophy finalist in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the best wide receiver in the country in Jerry Jeudy. Both players could put up big numbers in 2019.
H/T ESPN and AL.com
