Josh Cuevas 'Feeling Great' After Recovering from Foot Injury

The Alabama tight end, who missed three games, gave a shoutout to the Crimson Tide's training staff ahead of the Rose Bowl against Indiana.

Dec 19, 2025; Norman, OK, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide tight end Josh Cuevas (80) prior to the CFP 1st Round Game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family OK Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

LOS ANGELES — Alabama football gave fans a late holiday gift on Sunday evening.

Ahead of the No. 9 Crimson Tide's Rose Bowl matchup against No. 1 Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on Jan. 1, 2026, UA released its inital availability report. Alabama has been riddled with injuries, both short and long-term, throughout the season, but on Sunday, the Tide's three players on the report were either suspended (Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.) or have been/still are out for the year (Jeremiah Beaman and Jah-Marien Latham).

Crimson Tide tight end Josh Cuevas' name also wasn't on the initial report. He missed Alabama's final two games of the regular season, plus the SEC Championship, with a foot injury before returning for the CFP first-round road win over Oklahoma. After a three-reception, 35-yard performance against the Sooners, despite coming into the contest as a game-time decision, Cuevas shared the latest on his health shortly after the Tide arrived in Los Angeles.

“I’m feeling great," Cuevas said. "Shoutout to our training staff. They’re the best of the best. I mean, I legit broke my foot in the middle of the season and came back in the same season. So, that’s a tribute to them, and I’m ready to go for this game. Given that we've had a little bit of extra time to prepare, a little bit of extra time for guys to heal up and stuff like that, it's going to be even better."

It's not often that a player can return after sustaining a broken foot towards the latter part of the season, but was there ever a thought in Cuevas' mind that this could've been the end for him?

"Absolutely not," Cuevas said. "Where there's a will, there's a way. And once they told me that it's not something that's surgical, it's not something that's super serious or kind of long-term, I was like, 'Let's get to rehab. We're going to rehab it hard.'"

Cuevas was one of the few Huskies to transfer to Tuscaloosa from Washington following head coach Kalen DeBoer's hiring in January 2024. This wasn't the first time that Cuevas switched schools, as he played at Cal Poly in 2021 and 2022 before making the move to Washington.

As Cuevas is set to play in front of his home city of Los Angeles, did he believe just a couple of years ago that he could one day be a starting tight end in the Rose Bowl despite spending two seasons with an FCS program?

"You're ridiculous. You're crazy. Get out of my face with that," Cuevas smiled. "But I mean, when I started my football journey, I strived to become the best of the best and get to the top. Alabama, for sure, was kind of a stretch. Being at Cal Poly, being in the Big Sky Conference.

"But not everybody's journey is straight. I've had great mentors along the way and they just told me, 'Take it one step at a time and then worry about the next day.' I kind of did that, stacking days, and look where I am — Alabama — crazy."

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