Deontae Lawson injury update: New details on Alabama LB's return

Alabama Crimson Tide star Deontae Lawson gave an update for when he'll be available to return to the football field.
What we know about when Alabama football star Deontae Lawson will be able to return to the field.
What we know about when Alabama football star Deontae Lawson will be able to return to the field. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
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Alabama graduate senior linebacker Deontae Lawson said he will miss all of spring football and won’t be available to practice until fall camp as he recovers from a season-ending leg injury.

The fifth-year middle linebacker updated his status when speaking to the Crimson Tide Sports Network in comments made on Thursday.

“It will be until fall camp, definitely,” Lawson said. “Yeah, it’ll be until fall camp.”

“I’ll definitely try to stay around as much as I can, but yeah, before I’m active, probably fall camp.”

Lawson went down with the injury in Alabama’s loss against Oklahoma and was unable to play in the team’s final two games, a victory against Auburn and a loss to Michigan in the postseason.

The veteran linebacker has start 26 of a possible 37 games for Alabama, including in 11 games each of the last two seasons in the middle part of the field.

It was his late-season injury that inspired Lawson to return to Alabama for a fifth season.

“It was a long process,” he said of his thinking about coming back.

“Before the season, I was planning on declaring, but stuff happens, and you never really know why, but I put my faith in the good Lord above and it was best to take a step back and not go, based on how you feel, but what your intuition is telling you.”

He added: “Overall, I don’t feel accomplished here yet. I don’t really feel like I have things to prove, but I don’t really feel like my story is complete here.”

Alabama finished 9-4 this past season and failed to qualify for the first 12-team College Football Playoff in Kalen DeBoer’s inaugural season as head coach.

And with the Crimson Tide losing some prominent players, including quarterback Jalen Milroe, having a veteran presence in the middle of their defense will be a crucial foundation to build on.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.