LT Overton injury update: Alabama EDGE cleared to return, expected to play in Rose Bowl vs. Indiana

Alabama EDGE LT Overton has been cleared to return to action, BamaOnLine’s Charlie Potter reported. He is expected to play in the Rose Bowl against Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.

Overton has missed Alabama’s last two games – the SEC Championship and the CFP first round – due to an undisclosed illness. However, he appears in line to make his return, and the news comes after shared a post on social media hinting at just that.

Overton wrote, “Back like I never left” on his Instagram story. He included a picture of himself walking into a game, adding further intrigue to the message.

Overton has become a key part of the Alabama defense in two years since transferring from Texas A&M. This season, he has 35 total tackles, including career-highs with 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks, to help the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Speaking after Alabama’s first-round win over Oklahoma, head coach Kalen DeBoer said the staff would continue to keep tabs on Overton’s status against Indiana. He said the evaluation would continue in the lead-up to the New Year’s Day showdown in Pasadena.

“LT, just continue to monitor him,” DeBoer said Monday. “Definitely not ruling him out right now, but we’ll continue to evaluate him and see how things go here in the days ahead.”

LT Overton made an immediate impact upon his arrival in Tuscaloosa last year with 42 total tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Should he be available for the Rose Bowl, Overton would help bolster the Alabama pass rush as the Crimson Tide take on Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and Indiana.

Alabama came all the way back against Oklahoma in the first round of the CFP last week. The Crimson Tide trailed 17-0 at one point before completely flipping the script en route to the 34-24 victory. When asked this week about his team was able to turn things around, DeBoer said it came down to cutting into the lead bit by bit.

“We just talked about that so much this offseason,” DeBoer said. “Just what we were going to do and how you chip away. You can’t go score a 17-point touchdown. You’ve got to go score one score, even if it’s three points. That’s what our guys did.

“I know [Zabien Brown] got that interception right before the half, and that was big, but I was actually feeling really good about the spot we were in right before that. If we can go in 17-10 and get the ball to start the fourth quarter, we’ve clawed our way back in. You know it’s going to be one that goes down to the wire, and the interception, that gave us a lot of life going into the locker room.”