Eddie Jackson injury update: Alabama DB out for year with leg fracture
By John Buhler
The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Texas A&M Aggies, but it wasn’t all good news for them. Free safety Eddie Jackson broke his leg and is out for the year.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off an impressive 33-14 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday. Alabama enters its bye in Week 9 at a perfect 8-0, but it wasn’t all great news for the Crimson Tide on Saturday evening.
According to the director of the Senior Bowl and ESPN insider Phil Savage, Alabama head coach “Nick Saban just announced that [free safety] Eddie Jackson is out for the season with a fractured leg.”
Nick Saban just announced that FS Eddie Jackson is out for the season with a fractured leg. @AlabamaFTBL
— Phil Savage (@PhilSavage) October 22, 2016
This is a tough blow for the Alabama defense and especially its special teams unit. Jackson had two touchdowns in the return game for the Crimson Tide this season. The first came against the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford in Week 3 and the other came in Week 7 against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville.
Jackson has best personified the Six Club in place with the 2016 Crimson Tide. Alabama has gotten into the end zone with a non-offensive touchdown in 10 straight games. It has been these two units’ overall explosiveness that has made Alabama the team to beat in all of college football.
Without Jackson, does the Crimson Tide lose a bit of its bite? Well, Alabama still has an elite pass rush and a dynamic young signal caller in true freshman Jalen Hurts. However, Alabama has been able to get points without the help of its offense for much of the Saban era in Tuscaloosa.
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Alabama will find a way to overcome the season-ending injury to Jackson, but his on-field leadership cannot go unnoticed. Maybe Alabama is now vulnerable on special teams?