When people discuss Alabama football's loaded WR room, the usual suspects are the names that pop up. The starting trio of Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard, and Isaiah Horton. After that, it's typically redshirt freshman Rico Scott, who has emerged as a legitimate weapon for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide offense. Then, you typically see people discussing the true freshmen like Lotzeir Brooks and Derek Meadows, or perhaps Jalen Hale recovering from an injury, or the immensely talented Jaylen Mbakwe as he changes positions from CB.
The guy who often gets overlooked is redshirt sophomore Cole Adams, who people just assume has been overtaken in the depth chart by younger players. That ignores the fact that Adams was a role-player in last season's WR room when he was healthy.
Unfortunately for Adams, being healthy was few and far between last season. He got banged up in Alabama's second game against USF, came back, and ultimately earned his first career start for the Crimson Tide against South Carolina in October, before suffering an injury against Missouri and being lost for the rest of the season.
For the season, Adams caught 6 passes for 94 yards, including a career-best two catches for 57 yards in his starting role against the Gamecocks. Adams has also been a factor on special teams, serving as a consistent, albeit not game-breaking, return man last season.
Adams is a veteran in the WR room, and he's not giving up his spot in the rotation without a fight. According to Kalen DeBoer, Adams had a good scrimmage on Saturday.
Kalen DeBoer shouts out Cole Adams for a big play in Saturday's scrimmage
Speaking about Alabama's WRs in the scrimmage, DeBoer specifically mentioned Germie Bernard, Isaiah Horton, Rico Scott, and then Cole Adams for making plays in the scrimmage.
"Cole Adams made a nice play today," DeBoer said. "One that was really good to see."
The guys down the depth chart have their work cut out for them to carve out roles on offense in 2025. Alabama has a deep and talented WR room, one that far exceeds what DeBoer and WR coach JaMarcus Shephard were working with a season ago.
It seems like a lock that the starting trio of Williams, Bernard, and Horton are going to play a lot. Scott has seemingly earned his spot as the WR4. But there's still an opportunity for at least one more wide receiver to earn consistent playing time.
Adams is likely competing with fellow third-year player Jalen Hale for that spot right now. When healthy, Lotzeir Brooks will have something to say about that, but he's been dealing with a nagging injury that is costing him valuable reps in camp. Jaylen Mbakwe is probably hoping to be that guy, too, but the learning curve is steep at a position he never played until bowl practices last season.
It won't be easy for Adams to get on the field in 2025, but he's got an edge in experience that will help. And he's certainly not going to give up his spot without a fight.