This is one outlet's own report from Newsweek — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
Alabama Running Back Out for Significant Chunk of Regular Season
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday shared the news that many fans dreaded: Running back AK Dear's injury is serious, and he'll miss games as a result.
The lower leg injury the sophomore sustained in Thursday's scrimmage will keep him out for an extended period, report Alex Scarborough and Brett Greenberg of Bama247 .
The good news is that the injury isn't season-ending, but it will keep him sidelined for what On3 college football insider Pete Nakos said is typically six weeks.
Six weeks out would put Dear in line to return the day before Alabama hosts South Carolina on Sept. 26, the Tide's fourth game of the season.
More likely, though, the six weeks would mean Dear returns for the Oct. 3 game at Mississippi State.
Dear's injury came at a very inopportune time for the running back, as he'd been performing strongly, head coach Kalen DeBoer said.
“It was unfortunate because he was having a real nice scrimmage there with the touches he got,” DeBoer said, adding that Dear scored a touchdown before he was hurt.
Another running back, freshman EJ Crowell, is also hurt , though he's been sitting out scrimmages and is expected to not miss any game time.
With Dear out for an extended period and Crowell sidelined for now, that leaves juniors Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley as the likely leaders in the running back room, with freshman Trae'shawn Brown also in the mix, report Scarborough and Greenberg.
Alabama is coming off a season in which the team drastically underperformed in the run game, making running the ball a major focus for the Tide offense this year.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has said he is focused on " resurrecting the run game ," including by retooling the offensive line that was so maligned last season.
Injuries are inevitable in football , so having two promising rushers sidelined already definitely hampers Alabama's chances of a renewed offense.
If Crowell gets healthy before the season, though, and Dear comes back by early October, Alabama could again be dangerous on the ground moving into the most important games of the season.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.
