Christian Barmore posted a tweet Monday, a message that was likely in reference to his status for Alabama’s season-opening game against Missouri on Saturday.
“Trust and believe I’ll be ready,” it read.
It’s still unclear whether he will be, though.
The redshirt sophomore is still working back from a knee injury he suffered during fall camp and remains questionable for the matchup against Missouri.
“I can’t really say right now,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said of Barmore’s status for the game. “He’s done a little more each day. I think when you have an injury like this, sometimes the more you do it creates a little soreness. Then you have to back off a little bit. Then you can do a little bit more the next day. He’s worked every day this week and he’s made progress and we’re encouraged by the progress that he makes.”
Barmore, the top pass rusher along the Alabama defensive line, is listed as a co-starter at one of the Tide’s defensive end spots along with sophomore Justin Eboigbe.
Barmore finished last season with 26 tackles, six tackles for a loss and two sacks.
“I think he gets a little frustrated because he wants to be 100 percent, but you know players have to learn that when they come back from injuries you have to be able to give 100 percent of whatever you have,” Saban said. “If you’re 70 percent and you can give 100 percent of 70 percent, that’s how you get to 75, 80, 85, 90 and that’s how you get back to 100 percent. But you can’t get frustrated just because you’re not 100 percent the first day you hit the field, but you have to learn how to give 100 percent of 70 percent so that you can get back to 100 percent as quickly as possible.”
Matt Zenitz is a senior SEC football reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.
