Alabama Crimson Tide suffers yet another blow on defense after 5-star freshman goes down with injury that requires surgery
The Alabama Crimson Tide have dealt with their fair share of injuries this fall camp, including in the defensive backfield. That unfortunately continued on Monday, and it’s eerily similar to what happened just last week.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have taken another hit in their defensive backfield. Andrew Bone of Yea Alabama was the first to report that 5-star safety Jireh Edwards is going to miss a significant amount of time. Edwards will undergo upper-body surgery and is expected to miss a notable stretch, though he is not expected to miss the entirety of the regular season or a potential college football playoff run.
The timing makes this particularly painful for Alabama. This news comes just over a week after fellow 5-star defensive back Jorden Edmonds had to undergo lower body surgery. Edmonds is expected to miss at least a good portion of the early regular season. Two 5-star defensive backs going down before the season even starts is a gut punch for the Crimson Tide’s depth, no matter how you frame it.
The silver lining, thin as it may be
The only real silver lining in these two injuries is that neither Edwards nor Edmonds was expected to start for Alabama. Ivan Taylor, the son of NFL legend Ike Taylor, has drawn nothing but praise in the defensive backfield and appears positioned to handle a larger role as well behind Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb.
But make no mistake, this is still a major blow to Alabama’s depth. Edwards and Edmonds were both expected to play significant roles for the Crimson Tide, whether that was on special teams or getting meaningful snaps as early as Week 1 against ECU. Losing both of them before the season even begins disrupts what should have been a deep and versatile secondary rotation.
Good news elsewhere on the injury front
It hasn’t been all bad news out of Tuscaloosa. Earlier in the day, reports surfaced that wide receiver Noah Rogers is ahead of schedule in his recovery and progressing well. Alabama has also seen positive signs from players like EJ Crowell as they work their way back to action.
The bottom line is that Alabama still has talent in its secondary, but the margin for error just got thinner. Losing two 5-star contributors before the opener is the kind of depth hit that can catch up with a team when the schedule stiffens, and roster depth gets tested most.
