If there's any position on any team in the country that could withstand losing a key backup to injury, it might be Alabama at running back. But that doesn't mean even the defending national champions and nation's No. 1 team won't miss Jalston Fowler.
Nick Saban announced Monday that the junior fullback/tailback would require surgery following a knee injury suffered late in the Tide's 35-0 win over Western Kentucky and is unlikely to return to the team this season.
"Jalston's been a great player in the program -- a really good special-teams guy," Saban said, per the Birmingham News. "A great backup player for us. A really good attitude guy. Lots of character ... I know he feels badly. We feel badly, too, for him that he can't be a part and be able to contribute to our team this year."
As Saban's comments indicate, the 6-foor-1, 247-pound bruiser wasn't going to usurp Eddie Lacy or likely even true freshman sensation T.J. Yeldon as the Tide's No. 1 tailback. But Fowler played extensively as the team's primary fullback and took regular short-yardage (and late-game) carries, usually with success. His eight carries in the 41-14 win over Michigan produced 67 yards, and he added 18 more on three carries vs. WKU before the injury.
Fowler had 385 yards rushing and four touchdowns as a sophomore in 2011, appearing in all 12 games.
The good news for Fowler is that he appears to be eligible for a medical redshirt and would still have two years' eligibility remaining if the NCAA approves.
With Fowler out as the Tide's third option, tailbacks Dee Hart and Kenyan Drake could see more carries, and senior walk-on Kelly Johnson will likely become the team's No. 1 fullback/H-back.
