Kalen DeBoer updates status of injured Alabama wide receiver following first practice

USA Today

2 days ago

After months away, the Alabama Crimson Tide officially returned to the practice field Wednesday for the start of fall camp.
Following the Crimson Tide's first practice as well, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer also took the podium, taking questions from the media for the first time since SEC football media days.
As part of this, DeBoer was asked about returning wide receiver Jalen Hale, a player who missed the entirety of the 2024 season due to an injury, along with where the former top prospect currently stands entering fall camp, along with what to expect going forward.
"Just Jalen Hale, and where he was at a year ago with the injury, actually, in the spring in 2024, just a pretty significant injury at the time, and between he and then our medical staff, just doing an awesome job of pushing forward," DeBoer said. "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 having him out there finally doing some things with the team, and then the spring was the next step, and through the summer and him out there. But there's reps that he hasn't taken. Banked reps that other guys have, and so he's still learning as we go. 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. Excited about that this fall."
Hale originally came to Alabama as a member of the Crimson Tide's 2023 recruiting class where he was considered the nation's No. 41 overall player that cycle, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. A highly-rated four-star recruit, Hale was also considered the nation's No. 6 wide receiver out of Longview High School in Texas.
Once in Tuscaloosa as well, Hale went on to make an impact as a true freshman in 2023, hauling in five receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown across 13 games.
Hale however did not play a year ago due to injury, and now enters his redshirt sophomore season at Alabama this fall as undoubtedly a name to know in the Crimson Tide's deep wide receiver room, one who could potentially have a breakout campaign if back to full health.
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