A decision on whether or not Alabama quarterback Bryce Young can play against Texas A&M on Saturday might not be made until pregame warmups, coach Nick Saban said.
Young injured his right shoulder during last week’s 49-26 win over Arkansas. Saban said the medical staff decided Young shouldn’t throw in Thursday’s practice.
Since teams typically do walkthroughs on Friday, the warmups would be the time for Young to test his throwing shoulder.
“Bryce has been practicing, and all week, he’s been saying that he could play,” Saban told ESPN. “But that’s going to be a medical decision. We’ve still got some time, and I want to talk more to Bryce. He’s the only one who knows how he feels because it’s going to be a pain tolerance thing.”
Saban said Young didn’t sustain any damage to his rotator cuff and that the injury won’t sideline the reigning Heisman Trophy winner for the long term.
Young was injured in the second quarter against the Razorbacks and was replaced by Jalen Milroe, who rushed for 91 yards and passed for 65 in the victory. He also supplied two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).
Young has passed for 1,202 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
“Obviously, Bryce is the leader of the team, and the players respect him and trust him and believe in him,” Saban said. “But I don’t see our players not performing well when (Milroe) is in there. He does enough good things that they believe in him and trust him. If he’s in there, I don’t see it as a problem. Whether we can execute well enough is what matters because these guys (Texas A&M) are better on defense, I think, than anybody we’ve played so far.”
The Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 SEC) are heavy favorites over the Aggies (3-2, 1-1) despite the uncertainty of Young’s status. Last season, Texas A&M delivered a memorable 41-38 home win over Alabama.
–Field Level Media