Alabama’s season opener under Kalen DeBoer got rolling with a new quarterback, a reworked offense and a defense featuring both familiar names and fresh arrivals. Keelon Russell is making his debut as the starting quarterback, and he’s doing it with Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks available as pass-catching options. Beyond that, the offense still comes with plenty of unanswered questions.
The biggest reset came up front. Alabama turned over six of the seven players who started games on the offensive line in 2025, leaving that group looking almost entirely new. The backfield also has a pair of freshmen worth tracking in Trae’shawn Brown and EJ Crowell.
On the other side of the ball, Alabama brought back veterans like Bray Hubbard, Zabien Brown and Keon Sabb, while also adding Devan Thompkins from Southern Cal, Terrance Green from Oregon, Caleb Woodson from Virginia Tech and Kedrick Bingley-Jones from Mississippi State. Saturday is the first time all of those pieces have taken the field together against East Carolina.
Russell helped get the offense moving on Alabama’s opening drive, but the possession bogged down in East Carolina territory and ended with a 41-yard field goal to put the Crimson Tide ahead 3-0 with 9:30 left in the first quarter.
Then came the first freshman flash. EJ Crowell, the running back from Jackson, bounced outside and finished a drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. That pushed Alabama’s lead to 10-0 with 4:12 remaining in the quarter.
After one period, Alabama was in front 10-0 and had out-gained the Pirates 141 to -7. The biggest issue for the Crimson Tide so far has been penalties, not production, with four flags costing 20 yards and a fifth penalty declined.
In Other News...
Jalen Hurts Looked Like Alabamas Standard From His Very First NFL Start
When Jalen Hurts looked back on his first NFL start in December 2020 against the New Orleans Saints, the performance still stood out as the kind of debut that matched the standard he built at Alabama. He guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a 24-21 victory with a blend of passing and rushing production, and afterward pointed to the work he put in during the offseason along with the coaching support around him as a big reason he was ready for that moment.
Hurts and the Eagles are now set to open the 2026 season against the Washington Commanders, which gives that early-career game a little extra perspective. It was the kind of start that hinted at the player he would become, steady in a big spot and capable of changing the game in more than one way, even if the bigger arc of his career was only beginning to take shape then. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Fans Endured A Bryant-Denny Opener Unlike Any Other
Bryant-Denny Stadium turned into a furnace for Alabamas season opener against East Carolina, with the heat creating a challenge that had little to do with the scoreboard. Fans came prepared for a September Saturday in Tuscaloosa, but the conditions were severe enough that many spent the game searching for whatever relief they could find, from shade to any cooling method available in the stands.
ABC 33/40 chief meteorologist James Spann confirmed the temperature reached a level Alabama home crowds had never seen before. It was the kind of opener that made the weather part of the story from start to finish, and it will be remembered not just for the football, but for how punishing the afternoon felt inside one of college footballs most familiar settings. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas First Impression Suddenly Looks Bigger Than Just One Win
The first snapshot of Alabama under new quarterback Keelon Russell offered enough to suggest the offense may look different this fall, and for a team that spent last season fighting through inconsistency on the ground, that alone mattered. Russell settled in quickly enough in the opener to give the Tide a more confident feel, and the early signs of improvement fit neatly into the larger SEC picture after a weekend in which a few contenders either surged or stumbled.
LSUs overwhelming debut under Lane Kiffin and Ole Misss eye-catching win over No. 24 Louisville only sharpened the sense that Alabama cannot afford a slow climb into form. Even with Oregon surviving a close call and Michigan leaving more questions than answers, the Tides own opener now looks bigger than a simple first-game win, because the next step is figuring out whether those offensive gains are real enough to carry into the kind of league race that punishes anything less. [Read more 🡒]