re: LaBryan Ray feared lost for the year

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After further testing, Nick Saban provided the latest on junior defensive end LaBryan Ray, who reinjured his foot in the South Carolina game and underwent surgery.

“I would say that LaBryan Ray is probably going to be out for at least six weeks,” Saban said. “And then it will be how is he responding to treatment and therapy and all that type of things. So, I’m not saying he’s going to be back playing in six weeks. I’m just saying I know he’ll be six weeks before he can even start back to doing things. So, we’ll just have to see how he responds.”

Six weeks would put Ray back on the practice field in Alabama’s preparation for LSU for its home game on Saturday, Nov. 9. But that does not mean the former 5-star recruit will be ready to play.

Ray stepped into the starting lineup this fall and started all three of Alabama’s games up to this point. From his defensive end position, the former 5-star recruit registered nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and forced one fumble. He left the South Carolina game with the injury.

As a true sophomore in 2018, Ray provided depth along the Crimson Tide’s defensive line. He saw time in all 15 of Alabama’s games last season, making one start against Tennessee. Ray recorded 39 total tackles, including 5.5 for loss (-13 yards) and 2.5 sacks (-9 yards), and added two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries coming off the bench a year ago as a sophomore.

The Madison, Ala., native was the nation’s No. 28 overall prospect in the 2017 recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was also the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama and the No. 2 strong-side defensive end. Ray was 247Sports’ No. 15 overall recruit in that cycle.

Alabama is already without defensive starters Dylan Moses and Joshua McMillon, linebackers who suffered significant knee injuries before the season started that left them out indefinitely.

Freshman Justin Eboigbe is listed as Ray’s backup at defensive end on Alabama’s depth chart. If he does start in place of Ray this weekend, the Tide could have four freshmen in its front seven.

“We knew we were going to have to have a lot of depth in our defense with the freshmen and we’re really pleased with the freshmen that we were able to recruit last year,” Saban said. “And they’ve done a nice job of working, developing and continuing to improve.

“But we’ve had some unfortunate bad luck or whatever you want to call it, losing players at certain positions -- a couple of inside ‘backers, a defensive lineman. These guys have had to be thrust into duty before we thought they would. We’re working hard to try to get them to gain the confidence they need to play well on a consistent basis.”

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