Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from the weekend of August 22nd through August 24th, the final weekend before the start of a new football season for the Crimson Tide.
Kalen DeBoer sends a strong message to the RB room
Alabama will make the trip to Tallahassee this weekend to take on Florida State to open the season. They'll have to do so without senior RB Jam Miller, who suffered a dislocated collarbone in the Crimson Tide's final scrimmage of fall camp. He'll be out, and Alabama will likely turn to the trio of Richard Young, Daniel Hill, and Louisiana transfer Dre Washington to shoulder the burden.
Heading into game week, which of those three running backs will take a leading role is yet to be determined. According to Kalen DeBoer, he's still waiting on someone to separate themselves from the pack:
“Just looking for someone to separate themselves," DeBoer said. "That’s really the situation. I feel like Jam was certainly at a higher level, and we need these guys. I know they’re hungry and they want to do it, now they’ve just got to show us. It’s not just one area. It’s all phases. It’s running the ball. It’s pass protection. It’s just all those things combined. Each guy’s got some tools, got some things they can do. Just need them to stand out, because there’s kind of a logjam there. Each of them have their strengths, and they all can fit into the offense in some form or fashion.”
The odds-on-favorite to start his redshirt sophomore Richard Young, who has led the RB group through drills when the media has been present. But Daniel Hill has received a ton of praise during camp, and Dre Washington brings a lot of experience to the table. That pecking order should sort itself out this week.
Josh Pate picks Alabama to win the National Championship
Josh Pate made waves last week by picking Alabama to beat Texas to win the SEC Championship Game. He followed that up by picking the Crimson Tide to go all the way this season and win the National Championship.
Pate doesn't just blow smoke. It's all guesswork during the preseason, but he's making an educated guess after visiting practice around the country during the spring and fall.
We agree with Pate - not that that constitutes a surprise.
Ups and downs in the preseason for former Alabama players
Malachi Moore and Que Robinson both had strong showings in the final preseason game of 2025. Moore looked like the potential steal of the draft with a monster performance for the New York Jets as he pushes for a starting role in the secondary.
Moore finished with seven tackles, a tackle for loss, and an interception.
Que Robinson was a middle-round pick by the Denver Broncos, and he flashed this weekend, too. He finished with four tackles and a strip sack:
Que Robinson with a MONSTER strip sack pic.twitter.com/9sqAo9jglr
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) August 23, 2025
It was more of an up-and-down day for Jalen Milroe as he made his first career preseason start for the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. Milroe was put in a difficult situation - he started the game behind second and third-string offensive linemen as the Seahawks didn't play any starters. Unfortunately for Milroe, the Packers rolled out their starting defense for the first quarter.
It wasn't a disastrous day for Milroe. He threw his first NFL touchdown in the fourth quarter. His final stat line looked solid: 14-of-23 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown, while adding 31 rushing yards. The problem, just like it was so often at Alabama, was his ball security. Milroe lost three fumbles in the game that proved costly in Seattle's 20-7 loss to Green Bay.
Fortunately for Milroe, the preseason is now over, and he won't be under any real pressure to play right away. He can sit back, develop, and maybe come in for a few plays here and there in specialty packages to take advantage of his athleticism. It will be next preseason most likely before he's called upon to start a game again.