The biggest priority for the Alabama offense in 2026 is running the football a lot more effectively than they did a season ago. The offensive line was completely revamped with 11 new bodies in the room and four new starters from the end of last season.
Alabama didn't make a splash in the Transfer Portal in the RB room. After missing out on NC State transfer Hollywood Smothers, Kalen DeBoer chose to focus on organic growth with the returners and the hope that 5-star freshman EJ Crowell would be ready immediately. Both have hit an early snag after the first scrimmage of fall camp.
While talking to the media in the aftermath of the scrimmage, DeBoer noted that Crowell did not participate in the scrimmage and would miss a few practices, though he isn't expected to miss any game time. Sophomore AK Dear, who has been having an excellent fall camp, suffered an injury during the scrimmage and will be further evaluated. The severity isn't known, but DeBoer noted that the injury was "unfortunate" because Dear was having a strong scrimmage to that point.
Kalen DeBoer post-scrimmage: "EJ Crowell did not scrimmage today; he shouldn't miss games ... He'll be out for a few practices here. ... AK (Dear) suffered an injury. We'll evaluate him and figure out the severity of that."
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) August 13, 2026
Alabama RBs AK Dear and EJ Crowell are both banged up in first scrimmage aftermath
Alabama only has six scholarship backs on the roster. If those two are down, the room is juniors Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley, freshman Trae'shawn Brown, and App State transfer Khalifa Keith. That's a major concern.
The good news is DeBoer stating that Crowell isn't expected to miss any games. The bad news is that Crowell has missed significant practice time and much-needed reps due to injuries in both the spring and now fall camp. He missed the majority of the spring with a soft tissue injury, and any additional reps he misses in fall camp will be costly for a player still trying to get up to speed. It may be wishful thinking to expect that he's able to make an impact in the first few weeks of the season.
As for Dear, you have to hope that the injury isn't serious and he's able to get back quickly. It's a tough blow for a second-year player who was positioning himself for a significant role with his growth from last season. By all accounts, he has had a tremendous offseason and appeared to be in line for the RB2 spot behind Hill, and could potentially push up the depth chart even further than that.
The biggest hope for scrimmages in fall camp is that you can come out the other side injury-free. Unfortunately for Alabama, a couple of key pieces are banged up in a spot where the Crimson Tide can't really afford much attrition. Both Crowell and Dear are players that Alabama is banking on to be real difference-makers on the offense in 2026.
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