Nick Saban: Bryce Young is on 'Pitch Count' in Practice, Jaylen Moody Healthy

Alabama coach Nick Saban didn't reveal much about his quarterback's status on Wednesday outside of a brief update.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama fans will have to wait a little while longer regarding an injury update on quarterback Bryce Young and his availability in this weekend's game at No. 6 Tennessee.

During his weekly Wednesday press conference, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban revealed that Young has been placed on a pitch count and that he expects more work from Young on Thursday.

"Bryce continues to practice a little bit more," Saban said. "We got him on a little bit of a pitch count just to kind of wean him back into it and see how it goes, so we expect him to do even a little more tomorrow.

"So that's all I really have to say about that."

Young went down with a shoulder injury in the second quarter at Arkansas back on Oct. 1 and has been unable to play since. While Young returned to the sideline against the Razorbacks and was dressed out last Saturday during Alabama's game against Texas A&M, Young has remained unable to play despite frequent updates by Saban stating that he's making progress in practice.

Earlier in the day on his weekly SEC coaches teleconference, Saban remained vague regarding Young's recovery status.

"There's really nothing there to tell you," Saban said. "He's making progress, he's been able to practice some and we'll continue to evaluate him as the week progresses."

In the meantime, redshirt-freshman Jalen Milroe has stepped in to fill Young's absence. While the Crimson Tide has won both of its games since the injury, the games have been close — with the game against the Aggies being decided quite literally in the final seconds.

According to Saban, the decision to put Young into the game against Texas A&M was not an option that was on the table.

"I didn't think that he was in a position that he could go and effectively do his job the way he's capable of doing it," Saban said. "He's made a lot of progress from that point so hopefully that'll change in the near future."

In the Crimson Tide's narrow 24-20 win over the Aggies, Milroe finished the game 12-for-19 with 111 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception. On the ground, he rushed the ball 17 times for 83 yards but lost two fumbles.

In addition to Young's injury, Saban also gave an update on linebacker Jaylen Moody, who missed last week's game with a bruised kidney.

“He’s practiced all week, and he hasn’t had any complications,” Saban said. “So I think he’ll be OK.”

No. 3 Alabama travels to face No. 6 Tennessee this weekend (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS).

See Also:

Bryce Young's Status Heading into Tennessee Week

Everything Tennessee Coach Josh Heupel Said About Facing Alabama

Tennessee's Good, But Are The No. 6 Vols for Real? All Things CW

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Joey Blackwell
JOEY BLACKWELL

Joey Blackwell is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor for BamaCentral and has covered the Crimson Tide since 2018. He primarily covers Alabama football, men's basketball and baseball, but also covers a wide variety of other sports. Joey earned his bachelor's degree in History from Birmingham-Southern College in 2014 before graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2020 with a degree in News Media. He has also been featured in a variety of college football magazines, including Lindy's Sports and BamaTime.