The good news for Alabama is that it gets a bye weekend before what’s turned into a primetime showdown with an SEC West nemesis.
The bad news is that a key line component likely won’t benefit health-wise from the week off.
Starting left tackle Cam Robinson suffered a high-ankle sprain in the third quarter of the win over Tennessee this past weekend. Monday, Nick Saban said it’ll likely be a “couple of weeks” before Robinson is healthy enough to return to the playing field.
If Robinson misses a “couple of weeks,” he’d be sidelined for the Nov. 8 game against LSU in Baton Rouge. At least as far as talent goes, that’d be a significant development in a hostile environment on the road. And that’s armed with the knowledge that Robinson is a true freshman.
The 6'6", 323-pound was a five-star member of UA’s 2014 recruiting class, rated as the No. 1 tackle in the country and No. 17 player at any position. Robinson has backed up that recruiting hype by starting the first eight games of his collegiate career.
Robinson is also the first true freshman to start at left tackle for Alabama since Andre Smith in 2006. Who would replace Robinson should he not play against LSU is not clear, although Leon Brown moved over from right guard after the starter went down against UT.