Nick Saban says Alabama QB Bryce Young’s injury ‘not a long-term’ one, availability will be day-to-day

Published 1:22 pm Monday, October 3, 2022

Alabama coach Nick Saban says quarterback Bryce Young is “day-to-day” with a sprained throwing shoulder.

Saban said he didn’t have any substantive update Monday on the status of last season’s Heisman Trophy winner. The top-ranked Crimson Tide faces Texas A&M on Saturday night.

“There’s no updates on Bryce,” he said. “He’s got a little bit of a shoulder injury. It’s not a long-term injury.”

Saban spoke before practice, which is closed to the media.

If Young can’t go, Alabama will turn to Jalen Milroe, a dual-threat quarterback who played most of the way in a 49-26 win at then-No. 20 Arkansas. Young landed on his right shoulder on a scramble, throwing the ball away on his way down. He didn’t return.

Young has passed for 1,202 yards and 14 touchdowns against three interceptions this season. He has also run for 154 yards and three scores.

Milroe is a redshirt freshman and former four-star recruit from Katy, Texas, about 84 miles from College Station.

Alabama switched gears with him in the game against Arkansas, relying more heavily on the running game. Milroe was only 4-of-9 passing for 65 yards but set up a fourth-quarter touchdown with a 77-yard run. He finished with 91 yards on six carries.

Alabama has already had a package installed for Milroe, who was the nation’s No. 4 dual-threat quarterback prospect out of high school, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Milroe, who has passed for 151 yards and rushed for 163 this season, got little action in four games last season before redshirting. He completed 3 of 7 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown while gaining another 57 on 15 rushes.

Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 202 yards, including touchdowns of 72 and 76 yards in the fourth quarter. The longest run came from Milroe, though.

Gibbs said he’s never raced the Tide’s backup quarterback but that Milroe did run against receiver Kendrick Law over the summer.

“It was a tie,” he said.