Justin Eboigbe details the challenges of returning from season-ending injury

Alabama defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe was beginning to emerge as a major contributor for the Crimson Tide in 2022 before suffering a season-ending injury early in the campaign.

The 6-foot-5, 292-pound senior’s breakout would have to wait another year after he suffered a neck injury in practice leading into the Arkansas game.

Ever since he’s been rehabbing and trying to get back into playing shape.

“That time has been I’d say definitely been challenging,” Eboigbe said this spring. “It’s been more mental than physical because you literally don’t know what to expect. So when everything went down I’m just grateful for the coaching staff and the training staff, especially, for catching it early. And honestly doing the right things to catch it early and then get me with the right people to make sure that I was as healthy as I am today.”

In four seasons, Eboigbe has recorded 59 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, 2.0 sacks, two fumbles recoveries, an interception and three passes defended.

He’s got the size and athleticism to be a real disruptor on the defensive front. He knew it, too, starting to sense he was coming into his own just before the injury.

“Going down that Tuesday of that Arkansas week, after that Vandy game, I felt like I was coming off some of my best football,” Eboigbe said. “The fact is that something out of my hands happened. But by grace of God and then by the great people of this university getting me in touch with the right people has made it tremendously easy for the comeback. I’m feeling better now than I did before.”

Justin Eboigbe detailed the somewhat grueling process of making it back from a season-ending injury.

“It’s been a lot of checkpoints that I had to clear to get to the point that I am today,” he said. “So every little checkpoint that I cleared it was like a little personal milestone. The way I was feeling was also matching up with what the doctor was saying as far as the tests and all that. So I was just extremely excited that it wasn’t one-sided as far as like I’m feeling good but the test and results not saying the same. So I’m just glad everything mirrored with the way I was feeling.”

With Alabama looking to turn things around after narrowly missing the College Football Playoff last fall, Eboigbe and the Crimson Tide defense are looking to buckle down and show a bit more consistency.

The unit gave up some costly key conversions in crunch time against both LSU and Tennessee.

For Eboigbe, though, there’s just a sense of gratitude right now of being able to play. He’s worked hard to get himself back in that position.

“Of course you have a little self-doubt, but I knew everything was going to work out because the way I was feeling and the way the feedback from the doctor on how happy and proud he was as far as the recovery aspect of where I was at every checkpoint that we had, I knew that everything was working out to where that self-doubt was clearing up,” Eboigbe said.

That’s not to say there won’t still be some challenges going forward. Sure, there was some hitting in spring football practice, but likely not as physical as games in the fall will be.

Still, Justin Eboigbe is happy with his progress returning from the season-ending injury and he’s ready to keep battling on the mental front.

“The only thing that I knew was once I got cleared the mental aspect of getting hit and hitting people and knowing how mentally that affect me, but after that I was straight,” Eboigbe said. “I was happy that day that I got cleared. I was able to talk with (associate athletics director for sports medicine) Jeff (Allen) and my coaches about wanting to go out in practice that day, and I was extremely happy that they allowed me to do that, because I told them I wanted to get that mental aspect as far as like just going out there and playing full speed and hitting people and getting hit.

“And I was just happy I cleared that, because that’s the biggest thing coming back from any injury is the mental aspect.”