TUSCALOOSA, Ala.–After the week it had, Alabama was ready to start playing football again.
But during the team’s first scrimmage on Friday, running back Bo Scarbrough was carted off with an apparent knee injury.
“Bo Scarbrough was injured right at the end of the scrimmage today,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “I don’t know the extent of his injury. It was a knee, but we’ll find out sometime. I’ll let you know when we do find out.”
Scarbrough had 16 carries for 36 yards and two touchdowns before having to leave the field.
He is the second running back Alabama has lost this week with Tyren Jones being dismissed from the team on Wednesday. This is on top of starter T.J. Yeldon leaving for the NFL and backup running back Altee Tenpenny leaving the team in January.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries, suspensions, and lost some people at that position,” Saban said. “So, what seemed like a pretty strong position depth-wise has gotten a little thin.”
UPDATE: The Tuscaloosa News is reporting that Scarbrough has torn his ACL and will need surgery.
The scrimmage was closed to the media, so the statistics provided could be Alabama’s sports information department randomly picking numbers, but here are the rest.
Running back Derrick Henry had 11 carries for 112 yards and one touchdown. Running back Kenyan Drake wore a black non-contact jersey as he still recovers from his injury, but Saban said he and Henry ran the ball effectively.
The receiving statistics were more spread out. Raheem Falkins had five catches for 88 yards, ArDarius Stewart had three receptions for 65 yards and one touchdown, and Robert Foster added three receptions for 52 yards and one touchdown. Tight end O.J. Howard accounted for two receptions for 58 yards, one of which was for a touchdown
Unsurprisingly, Saban said the strongest unit on the team was the defensive line. During the scrimmage, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson had four tackles, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup, while A’Shawn Robinson had three tackles, one tackle for loss, and one interception returned for touchdown.
Linebacker Reggie Ragland had five tackles, one tackle for loss, three pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
No quarterback stats were given, but Saban said each quarterback got about the same amount of playing time. Saban also said that quarterback Jake Coker is more comfortable in the system now and is playing with more confidence.
Alabama will return to practice for a few more weeks, with Spring football finishing on A-Day, April 18 at 2 p.m.
