SEC QB Update: Bryce Young 'Doing Some Things' In Practice, Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson Not; Latest On Max Johnson, Jayden Daniels

No. 1 Alabama star quarterback Bryce Young is "doing some things" in practice, coach Nick Saban said on the Southeastern Conference teleconference Wednesday. He did not say if that was throwing.

Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, sprained his right throwing shoulder in the second quarter of Alabama's win at Arkansas and did not return to the game. If he does not start or play Saturday at home against Texas A&M, redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe will replace him as he did in the Crimson Tide's 49-26 win over the Razorbacks.

"He's still listed as day to day," Saban said. "No decision will be made until he decides and we decide from a medical standpoint, whether he can go out and function and do his job."

Alabama (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) and Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) kick off at 8 p.m. on CBS.

JALEN MILROE MADE THINGS HAPPEN AFTER HE REPLACED BRYCE YOUNG

"It's always better if you have a week to prepare," Saban said of Milroe's preparation this week. "He's had a good week."

Milroe completed 4 of 9 passes for 64 yards and rushed six times for 91, including a 77-yard run that set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter for a 35-23 lead.

Alabama backup linebacker Demouy Kennedy has been lost for the season because of a knee injury suffered at Arkansas, Saban said.

Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson Update

KJ Jefferson, meanwhile, is battling a concussion suffered late in the Alabama game and has not been practicing in preparation for the Razorbacks' game at Mississippi State Saturday.

"KJ has not practiced to this point," Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said on the teleconference. "We still don't know if he'll be able to practice today or not. Our rule is he's got to practice on Wednesday if we're going to play him. So, it's kind of a wait and see."

An exception could be made for Jefferson, who has passed for 1,096 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 312 yards and four touchdowns this season, should he be able to practice on Thursday and gets through concussion protocol.

Jefferson hit his head against Alabama late in the fourth quarter, left for a snap, returned, then left the game for good.

ALABAMA HOLDS OFF ARKANSAS WITHOUT BRYCE YOUNG

"Honestly, I don't know if he'll be able to practice or not. But there's obviously a chance that he will," Pittman said.

"He has had some mild symptoms," Pittman said Monday in reference to a concussion. "We've had guys come back in three or four days. And we've had guys stay out for 27 days."

In the meantime, walk-on quarterback Cade Fortin, a senior transfer from South Florida, has been practicing with the first team. He replaced Jefferson briefly against Alabama. Pittman said he could also play sophomore Malik Hornsby.

"Yeah, there's a possibility that we would do that and go with the hot hand," he said. "There will be opportunities for both to play if KJ can't."

Fortin completed 4 of 10 passes for 35 yards against Alabama and rushed once for a 9-yard gain in his only action this season. Hornsby has rushed three times for 21 yards.

"He's a good thrower," Pittman said of Fortin. "He can run."

Updates On Max Johnson, Jayden Daniels

Texas A&M junior starting quarterback Max Johnson remains day-to-day after injuring his thumb on his left, throwing hand at Mississippi State Saturday, Fisher said Wednesday. If Johnson can't go, sophomore Haynes King or true freshman Conner Weigman will replace him.

LSU starting junior quarterback Jayden Daniels is "100 percent" after suffering a knee injury in the fourth quarter of the win at Auburn, Coach Brian Kelly said. But he had a noticeable limp after leaving the game, and reporters cannot watch practice.

"Daniels is fine," Kelly said. "He had a bursa sac (inflammation of small fluid sacs around the bones and tendons and muscles near the knee). It's not structural at all, but it's painful. So, he was in pain. But he felt good Sunday. The exam was clean. We did an MRI just to make sure, and that came back clean. He is now in pretty good position where he feels like he is 100 percent."

If Daniels cannot go, redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier will replace him as he did in the Auburn game. Nussmeier completed 2 of 6 passes for five yards.

Written by
Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.