Saban provides postgame updates on Jaylen Waddle, Deonte Brown - 247Sports

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Alabama lost one of its top playmakers on the very first play of Saturday’s game against Tennessee, as wide receiver and returner Jaylen Waddle suffered an ankle injury on the opening kickoff. Coach Nick Saban later said Waddle will be out for the year.

It’s an unfortunate end to an electrifying junior campaign for Waddle, who caught 25 passes for 557 yards and four touchdowns in four games. Following the Crimson Tide’s 48-17 win over the Volunteers, Saban revealed further details on the injury in his postgame Zoom call.

“It’s really a sad time for me, for Jaylen Waddle and his family,” Saban said. “He’s got a very similar injury to what Kenyan Drake had (in 2014). It’s a high ankle sprain but also a fracture, so they’ll probably have to do surgery on him. We’re gonna fly him back privately with doctors and take him right to Birmingham and see what we have to do right away. But that’s the case -- and we’re pretty certain that it is -- that he would probably be out for the year.

“The guy’s a great player. He’s a great teammate. He’s an exciting player to watch. Hate that people in college football can’t see a great player the rest of this season.” 

Drake suffered a broken ankle at Ole Miss in 2014 and missed the rest of that season.

Without Waddle, Alabama was still able to pass for 417 yards against its conference rival, and players like John Metchie and Slade Bolden stepped up in his absence. The former led all receivers with 151 yards on seven catches, while the latter caught six passes for 94 yards.

Waddle wasn’t the only Tide player to sustain an injury Saturday afternoon, but he was the only significant setback. Offensive lineman Deonte Brown was not on the field for the final drive of the second quarter and did not return to the field in the second half and was replaced at left guard by Landon Dickerson, who was then replaced at center by Chris Owens.

Tight end Miller Forristall also appeared to injure his shoulder in the second quarter, but he was able to return to the game. Saban didn’t provide an update on Forristall but did share the latest on Brown and running back Brian Robinson, who suffered minor injuries in Knoxville.

“Deonte dinged his shoulder a little bit. I don’t think it’s anything that serious. But with the game being like it was, we were really looking for an opportunity to play some other guys at some other positions. They may have to play down the road anyway. B-Rob got a little nicked up, so we kept him out. We just kept a couple guys out that we just didn’t want them to get any more banged up, and it gave some opportunity for some other guys to play. It was good for Chris to play center. Chris played tackle. It was good to get those guys some playing time.”

Did you know BOL has a podcast? The Built By BamaOnLine Podcast brings you the latest Alabama news and insight from Travis Reier, Charlie Potter, Hank South and Tim Watts. Catch the latest episode right here or subscribe on iTunes today!

Contact Charlie Potter by personal message or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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Saban provides postgame updates on Jaylen Waddle, Deonte Brown - 247Sports
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