Kalen DeBoer Gives Injury Updates on Jam Miller, Jaeden Roberts, James Smith

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer held his first press conference since news of Jam Miller's injury broke, and on Thursday, Miller was one of the three veteran players whose statuses were updated by DeBoer.

"[It was] a little more significant than what I thought when I was there for the press conference with you guys [last Saturday]," DeBoer said about Miller. "He'll be out. We'll go week-by-week, but he'll be out for [the] first game for sure, and then we'll play it from there."

At that same press conference, DeBoer revealed right guard Jaeden Roberts has a concussion and defensive lineman James Smith was working his way back from an injury, the specifics of which were not shared by the Crimson Tide coach. Smith has since returned to practice. Roberts remains in concussion protocol.

"He hasn't taken any team reps or anything right now. Still making that progress through that protocol that we're on with his injury," DeBoer said.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said on Tuesday that the coaching staff would be confident in either Kam Dewberry or Geno VanDeMark, who've been battling at the left guard spot, in the event that Roberts was not ready to play on August 30 against Florida State.

"Very comfortable. Those are two veteran players, very versatile, too. They can both play left or right, so they’re interchangeable," Grubb said. "Kam brings a lot of physical presence to him. Geno’s a savvy player that knows how to connect with the center.”

The difficulty in the running back room, with established starter Miller on the mend from a dislocated collarbone, is a comparative lack of game reps from his backups. It's a versatile group, but DeBoer mentioned that the staff wants to see positive work done in all areas, not just rushing.

"Just looking for someone to separate themselves," DeBoer said. "That's really the situation... These guys, I know they're hungry. They wanna do it, now they've just gotta show us. It's not just one area. It's all phases. It's running the ball. It's pass protection. It's just all of those things combined."

DeBoer used the word "logjam" to describe the situation at the running back position. There will presumably be opportunities for multiple other players to make their mark in the run game. On the offensive line, not having Roberts is not ideal, but two more than serviceable options in Dewberry (a Texas A&M transfer) and VanDeMark have already been in the mindset of battling during camp.