Alabama coach Nick Saban confirmed Monday that linebacker Christopher Allen will have surgery on a fractured foot that will likely sideline him for the rest of the season. Allen, a 6-foot-4, 242-pound redshirt senior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, suffered the injury in the first half of Saturday's 44-13 win over Miami (FL) in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
Allen has been one of the most productive players for Bama's defense. He led the SEC in tackles for loss last season with 13, six of which were sacks, and totaled 41 tackles on the year, including five in the SEC Championship Game win over Florida. For his career, he has 19.5 tackles for loss over three-plus seasons.
It's a big loss since Allen was Alabama's starter at SAM linebacker, but Saban has amassed the most talent in the country for this very reason. Freshman Drew Sanders stepped in for Allen against the Hurricanes and finished with six tackles. The 6-foot-5, 232-pounder was a five-star prospect and the No. 22 overall player in the Class of 2020.
"Drew's a good player. And we've rotated those three guys, you know, all through camp and all through the spring as starters," Saban said after the game. "Chris Allen is a fantastic player, though, and he's a really good pass rusher. And really was a luxury to have him and Will [Anderson] on the edges as outside backers. But we have confidence in Drew and we have a couple of other young players that are going to ... get an opportunity to play."
Dallas Turner is another player who could see an increase in playing time with Allen sidelined. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound freshman from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was the ninth-ranked player in the Class of 2021 and the top prospect off the edge.
Allen's injury could derail the season for a normal team, but as we've seen with Saban's teams over the years, Alabama is far from a "normal" team. There is plenty of talent on that roster, and the coaching staff is well-versed on identifying which players to plug into which holes.
