Trae'shawn Brown has gone from overlooked newcomer to one of the most intriguing names in Alabama’s backfield, and his rise has been one of the defining stories of spring practice and fall camp.
The freshman running back entered Tuscaloosa in the shadow of 5-star EJ Crowell, but Brown has kept stacking good days and now looks like he has a real shot to matter right away. With AK Dear still on the mend and Crowell missing valuable practice time, Brown could open the season as RB2 behind junior Daniel Hill.
Even if the exact depth-chart order shifts by Week 1, the larger picture is already taking shape: Brown is going to play. He backed that up again in Thursday’s scrimmage, then drew strong praise from Kalen DeBoer afterward.
What has pushed Brown forward isn’t just what he can do with the ball. That part showed up early in the spring. The bigger development has been his work in pass protection, where he’s started to earn the staff’s confidence.
"You just feel more and more comfortable with him out there," DeBoer said. "Honestly, I felt pretty good about him as a ball carrier based on what we saw this spring.
You’re just always working on ball security and things; it’s just faster at the college level. He’s really adapted well.
"Then it just leads into pass protections and any checks the quarterback makes. You can just see that he’s a smart guy; it matters to him.
He’s definitely not noticeable in a bad way out there. He’s going out there and making plays and continues to progress."
Alabama made fixing the run game a major offseason priority, and the program attacked it from multiple angles. DeBoer and his staff overhauled the offensive line room, brought in new coaches for the O-line and tight ends, and counted on natural improvement from Hill, Kevin Riley, and a healthy Dear to give the ground game a lift.
The freshman they expected to lead that charge was Crowell, one of the most productive high school backs Alabama has ever produced. That still might happen. But Brown has forced his way into the conversation in a big way.
He was a late addition to the class and didn’t arrive with the same buzz as some of the other newcomers in Tuscaloosa. Even so, he’s now in position to make as much noise as anyone from that group in year one.
Brown brings the kind of wiggle and shiftiness Alabama has been missing at the position, along with the contact balance and explosiveness to turn a carry into a big play. And with DeBoer and Ryan Grubb saying earlier in the week that he’s grown enough as a pass blocker to avoid being a weakness there, the path to a real role has opened up.
Brown has earned the staff’s trust in fall camp, and that trust is likely to show up in the offense once the season starts.
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Former Alabama Player Just Won A Massive Case Tied To 2023 Shooting
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The nine-day trial ended with the jury siding with Spears, putting a sharp spotlight on how a mistaken report can follow an athlete long after his playing days. The Times had acknowledged the error in its original story and said it is reviewing its legal options after the verdict, leaving the case with another chapter still possible. [Read more 🡒]