The majority of Alabama's impressive 2026 signing class will enroll early in Tuscaloosa in January. But practice reinforcements were needed heading into the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, so several prospects got the call to join the Crimson Tide early for practice leading up to the Rose Bowl.
Those players will participate in practice and travel with the team to Pasadena for the game. They aren't eligible to play, but it's still a great opportunity for these guys to get an early leg up on their classmates and position themselves to compete for early playing time when spring practice rolls around.
The full list of Alabama's incoming freshmen participating in Rose Bowl practices
(h/t to 247's Brett Greenberg)
- 5-star CB Jorden Edmonds (Marietta, GA)
- 4-star WR Cederian Morgan (Alexander City, AL)
- 4-star CB Zyan Gibson (Gadsden, AL)
- 4-star QB Jett Thomalla (Omaha, NE)
- 4-star TE Mack Sutter (Dunlap, IL)
- 4-star OL Chris Booker (Atlanta, GA)
- 4-star DL Kamhariyan Johnson (Muscle Shoals, AL)
- 3-star DL Corey Howard (Valdosta, GA)
- 3-star LB Zay Hall (Tuscaloosa, AL)
The list isn't indicative of the staff's feelings about the prospects who are joining early; it's more of a positional need, plus the availability of the signees to be able to get to Tuscaloosa early. That wasn't a reality for everyone.
For Alabama football and various programs across the country, early enrollment has become the norm around bowl games for players with aspirations of playing early. All nine Crimson Tide early enrollees are now participating in their first set of collegiate practices and will be granted the opportunity to travel to Pasadena, California, with the team ahead of their Rose Bowl showdown against No.1 1-ranked Indiana in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff on January 1st.
The remainder of Alabama's 2026 early enrollees are expected to report to campus in Tuscaloosa on January 5th.