Michigan Football: Alabama Star Expected Back From Injury

It has been years since Michigan football last won a Rose Bowl or beat Alabama; however, the Wolverines will have a chance to check both of these boxes in a few days when they face the Crimson Tide in a massive College Football Playoff game. Today, Alabama head coach Nick Saban gave two key injury updates for the Tide ahead of their bout against the No. 1 Wolverines, and it sounds like star running back Jase McClellan will be playing in the Rose Bowl.

Alabama star expected to return against Michigan football, says Nick Saban

Alabama Crimson Tide running back Jase McClellan, Bama’s leading rusher this fall, missed his team’s SEC title game victory over then-No. 1 Georgia, which essentially punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff, where they will face the top-ranked Michigan football program 9th-year head coach Jim Harbaugh.

While Bama was previously without McClellan, who has rushed for over 800 yards and six touchdowns on 166 carries this fall, it appears that he will be returning from his foot injury for the Rose Bowl against the Wolverines.

“Jase is doing great,” Nick Saban said at Disneyland on Wednesday, according to Bama247. “He practiced yesterday and today. Looks good. We gave him a lot of time off to heal his foot & it looks like it paid off. … Barring some setback, the way he’s practiced, I don’t see why he couldn’t play the game.”

Michigan must stop Jase McClellan in Rose Bowl game

While Jase McClellan and Alabama have done a decent job this fall of running the football, Michigan football has been doing an even better job of stopping the run; in fact, when it comes to NCAA rankings, Bama ranks No. 46 in rushing offense, while the Maize and Blue rank No. 5 in rushing defense.

Only time will tell if Jase McClellan will play in the Rose Bowl or not, but from the sound of things, it’s safe to assume that Michigan football must find a way to shut down the Tide’s leading rusher on New Year’s Day.

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