Even as Alabama is on a bye ahead of its just-this-short-of-Armageddon rematch with Texas A&M, there’s some not-so-positive news on the personnel front for the Tide.
Head coach Nick Saban revealed Thursday that defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson suffered a knee injury during Wednesday’s practice as the Tide continues preparations for their Sept. 14 game with the Aggies. There’s no word yet on how much playing time the lineman might miss.
The injury, though, will force the redshirt freshman to undergo surgery, although Saban was in not in any kind of mood to even begin to get into any type of specifics as to the nature of the issue.
“I’m not going to comment on what the issue is,” Saban said. “They’ll know for sure when they do the surgery and we’ll let you know what the outcome of the surgery is when they do it. But other than that I think we’re well along.”
(Writer’s note: told ya he wasn’t in any kind of mood.)
Tomlinson was listed as the No. 2 defensive end on the Tide’s most recent depth chart. He played in the season-opening win over Virginia Tech -- credited with four tackles in his first collegiate game -- and was/is expected to be a part of UA’s defensive line rotation throughout the season.
Tomlinson was a four-star member (aren’t they all?) of the Tide’s 2012 recruiting and redshirted as a true freshman last year.