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TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Keelon Russell spent a significant portion of the third quarter of Alabama's win over LSU on Saturday in the injury tent getting his ankle evaluated. After the game the Crimson Tide quarterback said he didn't want the ankle injury to prevent him from finishing out the game.
During the Alabama coaches' press conferences on Monday, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb revealed that Russell suffered a foot injury against Texas A&M that he worked his way back from during the bye week.
Even though Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer classified Russell as "day to day," the coaches sound like they plan on playing him this Saturday against Vanderbilt.
"We’ve got to keep moving and winning and and playing our best football," DeBoer said. "You’re weighing what how he feels, what the medical staff says as far as we never want to hurt him. We’ll never do that. He's got to go out there and obviously be able to play at the level that can help us win. Obviously we’ve got a lot of confidence if we had to move to Austin at some point. He’s day to day and going to continue to finish out the game, so that’s a good sign right there.
“I mean, this kid’s a really tough kid. He’s had other things that have popped up in games where he’s played through it. You guys have probably seen it to if you’re paying close attention. He stays out on the football field and keeps doing his thing. For him to play at the level he played at, getting dinged up was impressive in and of itself. I expect him to do everything he can to get on the football field. We’re never going to put him in an area of safety where that’s concerned.”
With the win over LSU, Alabama (7-2, 5-2 SEC) is in a really good position to make the College Football Playoff. While performing well in the CFP is the ultimate goal and making sure Russell is ready for that, the Crimson Tide has to get there first. Alabama has to handle business against Vanderbilt, Chattanooga and Auburn.
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Grubb called Russell's performance at LSU one of the guttier he'd ever been around from a player that age. He said the coaching staff will follow the recommendation from Jeff Allen and the training staff for what workload Russell can maintain in practice this week.
"I think 48 hours after a football game to 72 hours is the most critical part just to see where he’s at and know what he’s going to be capable of," Grubb said of Russell. "They seem pretty confident that Keelon was going to be alright.
“I think for him, it's just where he's going to be on Tuesday, Wednesday, and how does he feel? He responded really, really well from a foot injury in the Texas A&M game, healed very quickly and was smart about how he progressed through his rehab. It’s really just listening to the medical staff, and what they tell us to do.”
DeBoer gave updates on two other injured players on Monday morning. He expects cornerback Zabien Brown to be available to play this week. Alabama also "feels good" about the progress of offensive guard William Sanders.
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Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball, gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.
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