There was no more anticipated freshman debut on Saturday for Alabama than 5-star RB EJ Crowell, who had become a bit of an enigma throughout the offseason. Alabama fans were aware of his immense talent, but all of the missed time from the spring and into fall camp seemed to indicate that it would be difficult for him to play a significant role, at least early in the season.
But after watching his debut against East Carolina, it feels more and more like Kalen DeBoer and the coaching staff have been expressing immense caution with their star freshman back. They quickly saw what they had in practice with Crowell. What they saw in practice was on display in Week 1, with Crowell flashing his contact balance, speed, and vision.
He got early action in the first quarter, ultimately turning seven carries into 37 yards. He added one reception for 13 yards. It should tell you everything you need to know about Crowell that he was only on the field for 12 snaps, but he touched the ball eight times. He was clearly on a pitch count, but if he was going to be on the field anyway, they were going to put the ball in his hands.
Crowell touched the ball on 75% of the snaps he was in for. Compare that to Daniel Hill (11 touches on 30 snaps) and Trae'shawn Brown (seven touches on 26 snaps). It's clear they have big plans for Crowell.
Grubb could hardly contain his excitement about his star freshman running back when talking about him on Monday. He had a smile on his face when he said the following:
"13 (Crowell) is pretty good. He's not a bad player. I like that guy. So we'll see how much more we get him out there," Grubb said.
EJ Crowell is going to be Alabama's featured back sooner rather than later
It's only a matter of time before Crowell has a stranglehold on the RB room. He's the most talented back on the roster. He just needs to get more comfortable in the system and prove himself as a capable blocker in pass protection,
They are going to bring him along slowly. They know how important he's going to be for the success of the rushing attack in 2026. His role is going to grow week by week, and barring good health, I suspect he's at the top of the pecking order once we're rolling into November.
That's no disrespect to Hill or Brown, either. Both looked good in the season opener. There's also AK Dear, who should be back on the field in the coming weeks, too. This RB room is a lot more talented than anyone wanted to give it credit for in the preseason.
Crowell is different, though. He's a rare talent. For the coaches, that was obvious from the moment he stepped on a Tuscaloosa practice field. For fans, it became obvious the moment he touched the ball for the first time at Bryant-Denny.
Crowell is special, and everyone knows it.
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