Kalen Deboer Confirms His WR Jalen Is Injured And Out.
Alabama sophomore Jalen Hale suffered a “significant” knee injury during the Tide’s Tuesday practice.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer said Hale will be out for the spring. DeBoer told reporters during a news conference Thursday that Hale’s timeline for a return is unclear.
Hale was one of the returning pieces in the team’s wide receiver group, which lost Jermaine Burton to the NFL Draft and Isaiah Bond, Amari Niblack and Malik Benson to the transfer portal.
Hale ranked third with 148 yards among the returning pass-catchers from the 2023 offense, including Kobe Prentice and CJ Dippre.
Hale caught one touchdown pass, snagging a 33-yard fly route from Jalen Milroe. Each ate a big hit for the six points in an eventual win against Ole Miss. Hale made long receptions against Kentucky and Chattanooga before not recording a catch over the last three games of the season.
“He’ll be down for the spring, but there’s some evaluation that will still take place to kind of figure out what that timeline will be as far as the rest of the year,” DeBoer said.
Tony Tsoukalas of Tide Illustrated reported Hale left Alabama’s practice in an ambulance.
Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard praised Prentice for understanding the new playbook as well as anyone this spring. Kendrick Law, who developed into a do-it-all piece for Tommy Rees as a freshman, can be a weapon in DeBoer’s scheme.
Washington transfer Germie Bernard was spotted in a black practice jersey during a media viewing session last week, but there doesn’t appear to be a long-term concern.
Heralded five-star prospect Ryan Williams will enroll this summer after graduating from Saraland. Other names to know ahead of April 13′s A-Day include third-year player Emmanuel Henderson and freshman Jaren Hamilton.