The Louisville football team is already down a captain, as redshirt junior pass rusher Jonathan Greenard will be out for "a while" with a ligament injury in his wrist, coach Bobby Petrino said Monday.

Petrino said he did not know the timetable for his return but that it was "significant."

“It’s a shame, because he worked extremely hard to prepare and get ready for the season," Petrino said. "But he landed on it really differently and injured it.”

Greenard appeared to hurt his wrist in the first quarter, when he lunged to tackle Alabama running back Josh Jacobs. He stayed in the game for one more play but then went to the locker room and came back with a cast on his arm.

So Louisville ended up having to play the national champions without one of its best defenders for most of the game.

“He’s been a young man that’s really tried to be the leader in a number of ways—by example, playing hard, taking more pride in running full speed to the ball, which really showed up in practice," Petrino said. "... And then vocally. He’s been a kid that’s been around here for a long time, but he really was taking a lot of pride in doing that, and then he went down.”

Read this:Tidal Wave: Alabama overwhelms Louisville football in season opener

More takeaways from Petrino's press conference:

► Petrino said his priority on offense is to establish a running game. In that regard, he said his team needs an "identity."

"Also, we have to find out who our running back really is," Petrino said. He added Trey Smith, who started the game, left the game with an injury, and the team will have to evaluate his status.

► True freshman Hassan Hall will continue to see action, as he did Saturday. The other freshman running back, Javian Hawkins, was unavailable with an injury.

Hawkins did make Petrino smile at halftime when he came up to Petrino and said, "I can go" in the second half.

"I don't think most true freshmen would come up to the head coach at halftime and tell him that," Petrino said.

► Petrino said quarterback Jawon Pass made some nice plays but had a tendency in the second half to take his eyes off the play and worry about the pressure from the Alabama pass rush. At one point, Pass missed an open receiver down the middle because of the pressure.

Petrino said that's an issue with every young quarterback, and that Pass will improve from it.

More:Louisville football: Jawon Pass has a tough opener against Alabama

► Petrino said fifth-year senior cornerback Cornelius Sturghill, who was helped off the field and putting no weight on his left leg in the second half, should be able to play Saturday against Indiana State. The coach said Sturghill took a hit to his hip but that he was working out earlier Monday.

► On special teams, Louisville struggled in several areas Saturday. Of the team's three kickoffs, one went out of bounds and Jacobs returned the other for a touchdown.

More:Report Card: Penalties, special teams woes mark rout for Louisville

Petrino said the touchdown came from multiple mistakes, including the placement of the kick and two missed tackles in the coverage. Kicker Evan O'Hara slipped and almost fell as he was kicking the ball, so he ended up hitting a line drive. And then two Louisville player missed tackles.

Placekicker Blanton Creque handled kickoffs last season, but Petrino said O'Hara had a good fall camp and the coaches want to try him on kickoffs. The coach added that he would like to save Creque's leg by limiting his workload to just field goals and extra points.

Chris Klenakis, who is on administrative leave after being arrested for driving under the influence and wanton endangerment, was one of the coaches who spent significant time on special teams. Petrino said without Klenakis, all of the assistant coaches are doing a little bit of work with special teams.

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Jake Lourim: 502-582-4168; jlourim@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jakelourim. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jakel.