What's the latest on Andrew Body heading into the 2026 Magic City Classic

By Andrew Hammond | ahammond@al.comOne of the biggest questions involving the 2026 Magic City Classic is the health status of Alabama State Hornets quarterback, Andrew Body. Earlier this week, the Montgomery Advertiser noted that Alabama State head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. noted that Andrew Body was going to consult with doctors regarding a return to action. On Wednesday, at the Magic City Classic press conference, State’s head coach gave an update to AL.com on Body’s status for Saturday’s game. “Yeah, he’s still restricted,” Robinson Jr. said. “We’re hoping that we can get him back out there, but it’s not final yet. We’ll know something within a day or so.” Body, who was named the SWAC Preseason Player of the Year, has missed time with a hand injury since leaving a Week 2 matchup against Troy. In his place is true freshman and Pinson native, Aaron Frye who has started the last four games and has a record of 2-2. Frye has completed 48 of 76 pass attempts for 500 yards and one touchdown. Frye has also done it with his legs, rushing for 188 yards and two scores. In last season showdown at Legion Field, Body was a pain for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs squad as he passed for five touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-13 route of the Bulldogs. A&M head coach Sam Shade said that the Bulldogs have been in preparations to see both quarterbacks in Saturday’s contest. “Yes, we’ve been prepping for both, you know, because Andrew has been out for, I want to say about six weeks now, and so you know we don’t know what his availability is going to be, but you know we definitely felt like we needed to prepare for him to be there also.” The 85th Annual Magic City Classic will take place at 2:30 p.m. inside Legion Field and can be seen on ESPN+. A journalist of 19 years, Andrew Hammond's career has taken him from Wichita, KS to Birmingham, AL. In that time, he's excelled in producing quality content in radio, television and newspapers in newsrooms...