Kalen DeBoer Provides Injury Updates for Jalen Hale, Three Tight Ends

Alabama football's 2025 book has offically turned to the fall practice chapter.

Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke about a variety of topics following Wednesday morning's first practice, including a few injury updates. He shared that linebacker and 2024 co-captain Deontae Lawson is "going to be limited" following an ACL tear late last season, but "his trajectory is going up."

DeBoer also gave an update on wide receiver Jalen Hale, who suffered a significant knee injury during spring practice in late March of last year. Although he was likely to see an increase in snap count, it sidelined him for all of last season.

Hale, who hauled in five receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown in 2023, was healthy during the spring and the deep-threat receiver showed some strides during A-Day.

“Just Jalen Hale and where he was at a year ago with the injury, actually, in the spring of 2024, just a pretty significant injury at the time," DeBoer said. "And between he and then our medical staff, just doing an awesome job of pushing forward, our whole team is proud of him, not just me.

"We’ve talked about that in the winter, during December, I remember addressing it with the team. Guys being excited about him finally doing some things with the team. And then the spring was the next step, then through the summer and him out there.

“But there’s reps that he hadn't taken. Banked reps that other guys have. And so he’s still learning as we go and every rep, he’s gonna get more and more confident. But he’s certainly got a lot of tools, and I want to see his growth and I'm excited about that this fall.”

The tight end room sustained a remarkable number of injuries prior to A-Day, including expected starter Josh Cuevas, Danny Lewis Jr., who missed the entire spring, and true freshman Marshall Pritchett. However, each of them are made strides this summer and aim to continue progressing over the next couple of weeks.

“It will continue to get better and better," DeBoer said. "It’s in a good spot. This was going to be how it was when the injuries happened.

“Cuevas is gonna continue to add volume. I think that’s the best word to use, because he’s practicing. Danny Lewis, the same thing. They’re adding volume and the number of reps from start to finish. It’s not just team, it’s not just individual. But they’ve had a really good summer, and their progress is as we had hoped, as we expected.

“And the rest of the guys, Marshall, I know, didn’t practice at the end of the spring with what he had. A couple other guys, too, they’re all full-go. “We got more tight ends out there now, all of a sudden, than we could have ever imagined,” DeBoer said. “But they’re all competing, working together and doing a good job.”