Alabama likely loses Fowler for season, ready for

When junior running back Jalston Fowler went down during the fourth quarter of the Tide’s home opener, the severity of his injury appeared obvious. The talented back was visibly in pain and was carted off the field in a heap in the late stages of the game.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban revealed following the game that Fowler would have an MRI on Sunday, and for much of the 48-hours following the Tide’s win on Saturday the extent of his injury was unknown. During head coach Nick Saban‘s press conference on Monday afternoon, the news of his injury was finally revealed.

“Jalston Fowler will have surgery on his knee and is most likely going to be out for the season,” Saban said on Monday. “Jalston’s been a great player in the program. Really great special teams guy, great backup player for us, really good attitude guy, has lots of character.  He’s a really good competitor. I know he feels badly and we feel badly, too, for him that he can’t be a part and continue to contribute to our team this year.”

An injury like Fowler’s could have a devastating impact on some teams, but for the Crimson Tide, a team with a stable of running backs most team’s around the nation would envy, it won’t be quite as bad. That doesn’t take the sting of losing a multi-talented player away, though.

“It’s going to be real tough. He’s more like a back like Trent. He can run, catch out of the backfield and then he’s tough to tackle,” senior linebacker Nico Johnson said. “It’s going to be real tough, but we got enough guys, got enough depth there to replace him or have somebody step in and handle his role.”

Fowler played multiple roles within the Crimson Tide offense during the early stages of the 2012 season. During fall practice, he was seen working as an H-back, and he had been utilized on special teams and as a fullback when he isn’t the running back on the field. With his injury, numerous players on the Alabama roster will now get the chance to make an impact.

“At running back, Dee Hart and Kenyan Drake will have a little more opportunity,” Saban said on Monday. “We’re going to miss him, but it’s going to take a number of people to replace him in the various roles that he played on our team.”

“We have backups at every one of the positions and roles that he filled,” said Saban. “I think on special teams, there’s a different guy on each special teams that actually would take his place now.”