Deontae Lawson injury: Major update on Alabama's star linebacker following Oklahoma blowout

The Alabama Crimson Tide lost linebacker Deontae Lawson to a lower leg injury midway through their 24-3 upset loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in Week 13 on Saturday night. Lawson left the game in the second quarter and went straight to the dressing room and did not return to the field.

On Monday, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer confirmed that the linebacker would not be available for the Iron Bowl clash against the Auburn Tigers in Week 14 of college football action.

Later in the day, ESPN's Pete Thamel revealed on X that Deontae Lawson would be unavailable for the rest of the season due to his injury being more serious than initially projected.

"Sources: Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a significant leg injury against Oklahoma. He went down with the injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game," Thamel tweeted.

Deontae Lawson was key to Alabama's defense

This season, Deontae Lawson was the Alabama Crimson Tide's second-most prolific tackler, with 76 tackles alongside four deflected passes, two sacks, one interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Lawson was Bama's defensive signal-caller, and he wore the green dot on his helmet, enabling him to directly communicate with Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.

The linebacker is also one of Alabama's team captains, and during his Oklahoma postgame news conference, Kalen DeBoer stressed his importance to the team and the impact of his injury in the game against the Sooners.

“Any time you lose a great player like Deontae, it’s gonna affect you,” DeBoer said. “His leadership, he is the guy that makes a lot of the calls on the football field. Just seems like he’s always in control. We have trust and belief in the guys that come in with [Justin Jefferson]. Those guys take a lot of reps, and he’s played a lot this year, too.

“But Deontae, any of your captains, your top players, it’s gonna hurt you and it’s gonna hurt you just demeanor emotionally but also just the execution on the field.”

Justin Jefferson took over the defensive signal-calling duties after Lawson went down against the Sooners, a role that he will reprise until the end of the season, according to DeBoer.

In his weekly column, ESPN's Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. projected Deontae Lawson as the No. 5 linebacker in the 2025 draft class, while fellow draft experts Field Yates and Jordan Reid rank him at No. 3.