TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Linebacker Deontae Lawson (ankle), safety Jaylen Key (quad) and wide receiver Ja'Corey Brooks (shoulder) will all miss Saturday's game at Kentucky, sources tell BamaCentral.
Lawson, Key and Brooks have all been held out of practice this week. On Wednesday, head coach Nick Saban updated the status of Lawson and Key.
"They haven’t been able to practice yet," Saban said. "It’s still kind of day-to-day. If guys can’t practice on Thursday, it’s pretty tough for them to [play] in the game. We’ll learn more tomorrow."
Instead of waiting until tomorrow, sources confirmed to BamaCentral on Wednesday evening that all three will be out against the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3 SEC).
Lawson is second on the team with 52 tackles this season. He will be replaced by Trezmen Marshall and Jihaad Campbell, who both have played significant time this season. Lawson also missed Alabama's 40-17 win at Mississippi State on Sept. 30.
The secondary will have to shuffle around again in the absence of Key. After he got hurt last week, Kristian Story and Trey Amos were two of the guys that replaced him. Terrion Arnold, Malachi Moore and Caleb Downs moved around as well.
Brooks has been an odd case for the Crimson Tide this season. After strong freshman and sophomore seasons, Brooks has just three catches for 30 yards this year. He injured his shoulder against LSU and will be out on Saturday as well.
"We may not have all of our defensive players ready to play, but we’ve got to get the guys that are ready to play to play physical on the line of scrimmage, strike blockers up front, have good hand placement, make good adjustments on the formations and motion so we have edges where we need to have them," Saban said.
Alabama and Kentucky are set for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff on ESPN.
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