Alabama football receiver John Metchie out for College Football Playoff; JoJo Earle could return
Alabama football coach Nick Saban said Sunday that wide receiver John Metchie III is out for the College Football Playoff with "an ACL."
Metchie suffered a "significant knee injury" against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Saban called the injury "significant" earlier Sunday on an appearance on ESPN where the postseason pairings were announced.
"We hate to see any player get injured; it was a non-contact injury. We haven't confirmed it yet but we are pretty certain he has a significant knee injury," Saban said.
Alabama, the top seed, will play Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl semifinal.
Metchie suffered the injury in the second quarter Saturday running a route on a play where Bryce Young scrambled.
Also on the injury front, punt returner JoJo Earle was spotted warming up after he had missed the past three games with a lower body injury. He did not play, though.
"That's something we will have to evaluate when we start practicing again," Saban said Sunday. "He is getting to the point where he is dryland running and has some opportunity to come back and play in this game."
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Metchie leads the Crimson Tide in receptions with 96 and has 1,142 yards receiving with eight touchdowns.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: John Metchie out for Cotton Bowl with ACL injury; JoJo Earle could return
