Bryce Young Listed as Day-to-Day Following Shoulder Injury, Per Nick Saban
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama quarterback Bryce Young's status remains questionable following a shoulder injury he sustained last Saturday in the Crimson Tide's 49-26 win at Arkansas.
On Monday morning, Alabama head coach Nick Saban officially listed Young as day-to-day with a sprained shoulder, similar to what he said in postgame on Saturday.
"Really, there's no updates on Bryce," Saban said. "He's got a little bit of a shoulder injury. It's not a long-term type [of] injury. He's going to be day-to-day. When he can get back to throwing — we'll just have to evaluate it day-to-day.
"So I can't tell you if that's going to be today, tomorrow or the next day."
In Alabama's first offensive series in the second quarter at Arkansas, Young landed hard on his his throwing shoulder with his arm extended while scrambling to his right when trying to avoid former Alabama linebacker Drew Sanders.
Two plays later, Young was in pain after a pass attempt to wide receiver Traeshon Holden on third-and-8. He immediately headed off the field and pointed to his throwing shoulder when talking to Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.
After throwing down his helmet in frustration, the quarterback subsequently entered the Alabama medical tent where he remained for an extended period of time before running to the locker room midway through the quarter. He didn't move his right arm while heading in.
The sideline reporter said on the CBS broadcast that she heard a loud yell from Alabama's medical tent shortly after Young entered.
When it comes to how the team is approaching the injury this week, Saban said that it will be used as a teaching moment for not just Young, but for the whole team.
"Well, there's nothing to handle," Saban said. "We don't need to handle it. I mean, the only thing I would tell Bryce is 'Don't put yourself in a bad position.' He could have thrown the ball away before, and he could have just let the guy tackle him. In either case, he probably wouldn't have an issue. Aight? But putting himself in the awkward position of trying to throw the ball on his way down and then landing the way he did — you know, just try to avoid those kind of circumstances and situations for any injury.
"That's not a criticism, it's a teaching moment that players have to learn. And the thing about great competitors — and Bryce is a great competitor — is they always want to make a play. They're going to go to the last nth degree to make a play. But sometimes you gotta know when there's no play to be made, and now it's time to not put myself at risk."
Young emerged from the locker room following halftime and was seen warming up on the sideline. However, he never re-entered the game as the Crimson Tide finished out the game with redshirt-freshman Jalen Milroe under center.
Young finished the game 7-for-13 for 173 yards with one passing touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for one touchdown.
While there is no firm update for Young's status heading into this weekend's game against Texas A&M, the overall message is positive considering Saban's statement that he is day-to-day rather than suffering any form of long-term injury.
Regarding Milroe as the potential starter for this weekend, Saban said that the team already has a package prepared and had one ready to go even before the Arkansas game.
"We already had one," Saban said regarding having a package created for Milroe. "You want us to put a new one together just because he might play, or use the old one? I mean, we could do either one — I'll go talk to the offensive coaches and see.
"I don't talk to Jimbo [Fisher] on a regular basis but I'll call him and tell him right after the conference if you want me to. I mean, do you guys think we're going to tell you what we're going to do with our offense and our team? You might as well make it up."
