Alabama running back Trey Sanders will miss his entire true freshman season after suffering a “significant” foot injury in the last play of the Crimson Tide’s practice on Thursday, according to Matt Zenitz of AL.com.
Sanders was a consensus 5-star recruit and the No. 1 running back in the Class of 2019 according to Rivals and the 247Sports Composite rankings. (247 itself had him at No. 2 behind LSU signee John Emery, Jr.) A product of IMG Academy, Sanders was a signing day addition for Alabama over Georgia.
“Trey Sanders is doing really, really well in camp,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said earlier this week, per AL.com. “His work ethic is really good. He’s learning every day. His attention to detail seems to be pretty good. He’s got some ability I think may be able to contribute to the team.”
Alabama loses its top two ball carriers from a year ago in the graduated Damien Harris and the early entrant Josh Jacobs, who combined to carry 270 times for 1,516 yards and 20 touchdowns. Without Sanders, the Tide will have to make do with Najee Harris, the 2017 class’s No. 1 running back, who rushed 117 times for 783 yards and four scores a year ago, as well as junior Brian Robinson, Jr. and freshmen Keilan Robinson, Jerome Ford and AJ Gates.
