It's no secret that every Alabama football fan knows that the national magnifying glass is laser-focused on the Crimson Tide's anticipated quarterback battle between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, and for good reason.
Others are also aware that the second lion's share of attention will be paid to how Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, and newly hired offensive line coach Adrian Klemm assess the camp battle upfront, which will importantly decide who plays on the Tide's front five. But there's more fish left to fry for Alabama, with several other intriguing positional unit competitions still left hanging in the balance that are truly up for grabs.Â
Battles that will shape the physical and explosive makeup of the 2026 Alabama football roster. This is why I've narrowed down my top three positional clashes, three that I feel most fans aren't paying as nearly much attention to as needed, with the QB and OLine rooms rightfully hogging much of the headlines in the early goings of this offseason.
3 non-QB and non-OL position battles to watch for Alabama in the spring
3. Off-Ball LB:
Alabama third-year defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and his staff seem to have fewer holes they need to patch on that side of the football, having more continuity than the offense has returning, but who takes over this fall at the Sting/Mike LB spots is yet to be seen.
Most would pencil in 6-foot-3, 230-pound Virginia Tech transfer Caleb Woodson to be the prime candidate here after seeing the senior LB accumulate 152 tackles (11.5 of which were tackles for loss), along with two sacks, three pass breakups, and one interception across three seasons in the ACC, before deciding to play his final year of college in Tuscaloosa.Â
Wommack also has other potential options to choose from in talented young players like QB Reese, Cayden Jones, Luke Metz, Duke Johnson, and Abudall Sanders, along with incoming true freshmen in Xavier Griffin and Zay Hall. All of which have the opportunity to be slotted alongside Woodson or used as rotational pieces, if proven to fit the criteria of what Wommack and Tide LB coach Chuck Morrell are looking for inside for their 4-2-5 base defensive scheme this fall.
2. Running Back
Let's not sugarcoat it: In 2025, Alabama had one of the weakest rushing attacks in all of college football. Most will tell you that a lot of the Tide's inability to successfully run the football came from the inconsistencies upfront along the offensive line, and in my opinion, they'd be 80% right. I say this because, yes, the talent is there, but the other 20% steams from multiple injuries suffered at the position, mixed with a combination of no true tailback having the ability to clearly rise above the rest as a runner and pass blocker when on the field.Â
Still, the potential is hard to overlook, with Alabama returning Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley, and AK Dear, while bringing in talented newcomers like 5-Star true freshman EJ Crowell, along with sleeper candidates who can still make an impact like incoming 3-star athlete Traeshawn Brown and the most recent transfer, senior tailback Khalifa Keith.
With Hill being a junior this fall and making the most of his significant touches in 2025, rushing for six touchdowns on 75 carries, while showing his versatility as a pass catcher out of the backfield with 28 receptions for 203 yards, most would expect the 6-foot, 244-pounder to get the first crack at winning the job.
Even still, Riley and Dear are comfortably in the mix after both flashed their potential last fall in limited action as the Tide looked for answers in the midst of injuries. But most have already deemed Crowell as the "chosen one" after seeing him reclassify early in 2025 and still manage to be the top RB prospect in his class after rushing for 6,329 yards on 543 carries and 91 touchdowns across his three-year career at Jackson High School.
All these dynamics make for an interesting competition at the position for DeBoer, Grubb, and running backs coach Robert Gillespie to choose from as the trio desperately aims to get Alabama's backfield back up to par with those of the program's past.
1. Wide Receiver
The Tide still has an arsenal of talented receivers to get the rock to in Ryan Williams, Lotzeir Brooks, and Rico Scott, but the rest of the chat is filled with low-level experience and virtually all newcomers to the program. Those players are returning WRs Derek Meadows and MJ Chirgwin, along with NC State transfer Noah Rogers, and incoming true freshmen Cedarian Morgan, Aubrey Walker, and Maurice Mathis Jr.
Many Alabama fans hope and expect Williams to regain the elite form of play he displayed as a true freshman in 2024 as he enters a pivotal junior season.
Others confidently believe Brooks will continue to get better as a secondary option during his sophomore campaign after coming on late in the tail end of his true freshman season. Scott is also expected to get a bigger piece of the pie in 2026 after Alabama's offensive coaching staff navigated away from him due to the cluster at the top of the rotation. While this could be refreshing, many find themselves enamored with Rogers and how he could potentially step into the role that Bernard left behind.
Morgan and Meadows are also nothing to snore at, with both having the biggest frames, at 6-foot-5 each, on the roster. Chirgwin, Walker, and Mathis also bring Alabama speed options and built-in depth to lean on if DeBoer, Grubb, and Nix so wish. I think all have a chance of being a weekly contributor this fall, but the question will be what order they will be on the depth chart?Â
With that being said, Alabama's mainstream battles at QB and offensive line are vital, but the Tide's ship could easily sink or swim with the outcome of these three positions listed above. Alabama announced its date for its annual A-Day scrimmage, being set to commence exactly two months from today. It'll be interesting to see how these positions unfold during spring practices en route to when fans get their first glance at the 2026 Crimson Tide under the lights of Saban-Field at Bryant Denny Stadium on April 11th.