Report: Alabama DL Justin Eboigbe didn’t make trip to Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Going into the week, we knew that Alabama could be without Byron Young for Saturday’s game against Arkansas. The senior defensive lineman out of Mississippi has been battling an ankle injury suffered against Vanderbilt in Week 4.
Young might still be available today (he’s warming up), but now we’ve learned that fellow defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe did not make the trip to Fayetteville. That report comes from Charlie Potter with BamaOnline. At this time, that is all the information that we have.
Eboigbe has been second amongst Alabama’s defensive linemen when it comes to snaps played (117) so far this season. The first is Young, who has played 127 through the first four games. Eboigbe hasn’t just been a heavy contributor/starter this season though. He’s been in the rotation for four years and has over 1,100 career snaps under his belt.
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In other words, this is a significant loss for the Crimson Tide.
If Young was 100% healthy, it would’ve helped alleviate some of the pain from Eboigbe being out. The 6-foot-3, 292-pound defender will likely play, but we’ll have to see how effective he’ll be. Will he be able to play his normal role or will he be on some sort of pitch count?
The timing of these injuries is also unfortunate.
Last week against Vanderbilt, Alabama used a lot of its heavy nickel front, which includes three true defensive linemen and only one outside linebacker. It’s an effective way to add mass up front and stop the run, but you still need one of those defensive linemen to play out on the other edge opposite the outside linebacker.
Eboigbe and Young are the two most capable options for that inside-out role (play edge on early downs, kick inside for passing situations). With Young questionable going in, we had wondered if Eboigbe would need to play a larger role. The Razorbacks field a run-heavy offense that will likely require a heavier defensive front, after all.
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Now, we’re not sure how things will look, especially if Young is limited in any way. You’ll more than likely see more Jah-Marien Latham, but Damon Payne or even Monkell Goodwine are other options. It’s also possible that Alabama elects to use more of its nickel rabbits with Dallas Turner and/or Chris Braswell.
The other issue will come in obvious passing situations. Sure, Turner and/or Braswell are better suited for those situations than early-down work against a run-heavy offense, but Eboigbe and Young are both kicked inside for obvious passing situations.
In addition, Eboigbe has been the lone defensive lineman in the limited snaps we’ve seen from that cheetah package, which gets Will Anderson, Turner and Braswell all on the field at the same time. That tells you he’s viewed as one of — if not — the best interior rushers.
Young, assuming he’s available, might fill that role, or maybe we finally see third-year player Jamil Burroughs get more significant action. As kickoff quickly approaches, this is something that Alabama fans should be monitoring closely.
