OXFORD, Miss. — In addition to taking its first loss of the season, the University of Alabama’s 23-17 game at Ole Miss was also costly in terms of personnel on Saturday.
Junior running back Kenyan Drake endured a horrific broken leg, junior linebacker Denzel Devall left with a high ankle sprain, and junior center Ryan Kelly sustained a sprained knee.
“We took him to Birmingham already,” Saban said about Drake. “He’ll probably need surgery. We don’t know exactly how long that deal will keep him out, most of the season if not all the season.”
RELATED: Video of the play where Kenyan Drake injures his leg
Saban called all three critical losses for what the Crimson Tide wanted to do in the game against the Rebels.
Devall was playing in his 32nd game for Alabama, and his absence essentially guaranteed that the defense would stay in a nickel formation for the rest of the game.
Drake, “who is very explosive for us,” said Saban, had 22 carries for 112 yards and four rushing touchdowns, to go with four receptions for 149 yards and two more TDs. He made a big difference against the Rebels last season, finishing with 99 rushing yards.
Saban called Kelly the “anchor” of the offensive line, and Alabama’s final points were scored on the possession he went down. Afterward the coaches had to use two time out to avoid delay-of-game penalties, and he’s also the player who makes the initial line calls before each snap.
Last season he sustained a stretched MCL against Ole Miss and ended up missing three games.
Redshirt freshman Bradley Bozeman replaced Kelly in the game, and true freshman Josh Carter would have been the next man in if necessary. With sophomore Grant Hill out (ill), true freshman Ross Pierschbacher was the backup left tackle (although right guard Leon Brown would have likely slid over if necessary), and Carter was the backup left guard as Alabama brought only 10 offensive linemen.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
