Left tackle Kadyn Proctor was expected to play in Alabama’s season-opening contest against Western Kentucky.
He may not have needed to — it ended up being a 63-0 blowout in favor of the Crimson Tide — but he was supposed to be in the starting lineup for head coach Kalen DeBoer’s inaugural game.
Proctor wasn’t there at the first snap, though, and he never ended up playing due to injury. On Wednesday, DeBoer revealed that the injury was brand-new for Proctor, and it wasn’t something he was nursing heading into the game.
While details remain sparse, the good news is that DeBoer feels the big offensive tackle is closer to taking the field than not.
“With Kadyn, unfortunately during the pregame, [he] just suffered an injury,” DeBoer said on the “Hey Coach and The Kalen DeBoer Show” (h/t On3’s Nick Schultz). “Something really brand-new and stuff. Just things that he’s gonna work through. I think it’s more of a day-to-day than it is a week-to-week. If he had his choice, I’m sure he’d be out there on the football field this week. And we’ll see. We definitely, early in the week here, just got to play it really slow, and he’s doing really well.”
Alabama trotted out redshirt sophomore Elijah Pritchett to replace Proctor, and as a sign of the Tide’s great depth, it’s worth noting that Pritchett had taken snaps at right tackle all fall camp. He did take snaps at left tackle during spring ball, but it was mostly a new experience for Pritchett, especially as a starter.
“I’m really proud of the way he responded. It didn’t feel like he was overwhelmed in any way,” DeBoer said of Pritchett.
In order for the Tide to make a big College Football Playoff run this season, DeBoer will want to have Proctor back in the lineup, though. Checking in at 6-foot-7, 360 pounds, he was an All-SEC first-team freshman in 2023.
Ultimately, the head coach feels his young tackle is doing everything it takes.
“I can tell you this guy is pouring everything into wanting to get on the football field. When I talk about pouring — it’s him and it’s other guys that just have other dings, but especially him — we’re talking six, eight hours a day in the training room,” DeBoer said. “Just passionate about getting back out there. You don’t do that without having intentions of getting out there sooner than later.”
