Alabama's A'Shawn Robinson to miss a week due to sprained knee
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ University of Alabama coach Nick Saban announced that sophomore defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson will miss a few days of practice after sustaining sprained knee.
Surgery will not be necessary, but Robinson will be out approximately a week. The injury occurred Tuesday.
In other injury news senior offensive lineman Leon Brown (foot) will be out for approximately another week, and freshman defensive lineman O.J. Smith, who arrived with a shoulder injury, will have surgery and miss the season.
Saban also announced that senior nose guard Brandon Ivory and junior end Jarran Reed had been reinstated to the team after being suspended for the first week of training camp. The duo participated in Thursday’s practice and along with Robinson made up the defensive line first unit during the spring.
Even without them, improving the pass rush has been a priority for the unit as a while.
“Coach (Bo) Davis has done a really good job with the D-line,” junior center Ryan Kelly said. “It’s a lot harder when they are coming off the ball and they are not giving you the chest to latch on to. That’s one of the things they’ve been doing, playing low. They’ve been playing physical every day.”
Kelly added that using their hands better has also been a point of emphasis, while – assuming everyone returns – there’s also a lot more depth. Unlike last year, when Alabama made Robinson and Jonathan Allen part of the regular rotation as freshmen, coaches have numerous personnel options, especially after the return of Dalvin Tomlinson (knee) and D.J. Pettway (kicked off the team).
“Basically, with us two, the quick twitch up there in the front, helps us focus on the pass rush and becoming quicker as a defensive front,” Tomlinson said.
Robinson played in all 13 games and made two starts last season. He was credited with had 38 tackles, including eight for a loss and a team-high 5.5 sacks. He’s on the preseason watch list for the Bednarik, Bronko Nagurski, Outland, Rotary Lombardi and Ted Hendricks awards.