A cut block won’t trim too much time from Da’Shawn Hand‘s season, at least not as much as it appeared it could have.
In the third quarter of Alabama’s woodshedding of Ole Miss Saturday, Hand went down after being (legally) blocked by Rebels tight end Dawson Knox. The defensive lineman was ultimately diagnosed with a sprained MCL that, according to al.com, will likely sideline him for about three games.
Hand will definitely miss this weekend’s game against Texas A&M, as well as the next two with Arkansas and Tennessee most likely. A return for the Nov. 4 game against LSU seems to be the target, especially as it comes after a bye weekend.
As for the block itself that will sideline Hand for the foreseeable future?
“Yeah, it was legal. He just cut him,” head coach Nick Saban said Monday. “If it’s illegal, we should eliminate cut blocking. I’ve been an advocate of (doing) that for a long time, but you’re allowed to cut.
“It was a legal block. Until someone changes the rule, there’s nothing illegal about it.”
This season, the starting lineman has been credited with 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack.