Alabama opened up spring practice Friday, and one notable player was missing.

Touted Washington LB transfer Ale Kaho didn’t attend practice, and Nick Saban was asked about it during his first media availability.

“He’s got some issues that he’s dealing with,” Saban explained. “We’re trying to be supportive of him every way that we can. I think that we’ll just continue to try to help him every way that we can.

“I don’t know if there will be some point in time whether he’ll be ready to come back and play football or not.”

That doesn’t sound great for the Tide’s defense.

Kaho transferred from Washington and arrived after fall camp had already started. He made 11 tackles last season and played a nice role on special teams.

Per 247Sports Composite Rankings, Kaho was the nation’s No. 7 LB in the class of 2018, and this is certainly a big hit for the Tide’s defensive depth. The LB position hasn’t been great for Alabama in recent years, and things are already off to a somewhat disappointing start.

You can watch Saban’s full press conference below: