We didn’t forget what happened in Pasadena.
Different season, same reminder for Alabama: the run game has to show up. On Jan.
1, Indiana’s 38-3 rout in the Rose Bowl laid bare the offense’s biggest flaw, and it wasn’t hard to spot. The Crimson Tide couldn’t run the ball, and for a program built on winning at the line of scrimmage, that kind of failure cuts deep.
That’s the part that lands on second-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and Kalen DeBoer now. Alabama doesn’t need to turn into a pure ground-and-pound outfit, but it can’t keep asking the offense to function without a real rushing threat. Last season’s numbers told the story, especially the negative-yardage runs Grubb pointed to this week.
“I thought one of our biggest sins last year was the number of negative yardage runs that we had,” Grubb said. “Just the availability of keeping the ball consistently moving forward and eliminating the negative yardage runs is going to be step one. And that’s a very low bar.”
Grubb sounded upbeat Monday in Tuscaloosa, and he tied the run game to everybody around it, not just the backs.
“The run game is a team thing,” he said. “It’s about how we run the ball in practice.
It’s how our receivers execute on the perimeter. It certainly is the offensive line.
And then, you know, the vision and strength of the running back is all part of it.
“And I think for us right now, uh, we’re in a really, really good spot there.”
That optimism comes with some real unknowns still hanging over the offense. Grubb said Alabama is still sorting out its starting five up front after a near-total overhaul.
The staff also moved on from positional coach Chris Kapilovic, and two linemen from last year ended up on NFL rosters. Injuries have complicated the picture, too.
The backfield has its own questions. Sophomore AK Dear has been out since the first scrimmage, and the attention has centered even more on five-star freshman EJ Crowell.
He missed spring practice with an injury and sat out both August scrimmages, which made his status a major storyline after NC State transfer commit Hollywood Smothers left for Texas. With new starting quarterback Keelon Russell and Crowell in the mix, Alabama can at least imagine a more dangerous offense than the one that stalled out last winter.
Grubb said Crowell is trending in the right direction.
“Yeah,” he said confidently. “We do.
He’s been pushing every day. He was out there practicing (Sunday).”
Medical decisions still have to be made, and there’s no shortcut around the time Crowell has missed. But the tone was clearly positive. There’s also been buzz around freshman Trae’shawn Brown, who could help add depth.
Even so, Alabama needs more from the backs who are already in place. Daniel Hill finished with 75 carries for 284 yards last season, and Kevin Riley had 59 carries for 224 yards.
The bigger issue wasn’t just production, though - it was the lack of any real explosion. The longest run of the year was Dear’s 56-yard carry late in a blowout against Louisiana-Monroe.
After that, the longest carry was Hill’s 30-yarder in a playoff win, and even in that game the backs managed just 24 more rushing yards on 15 additional carries.
The postseason didn’t offer much relief. Alabama was held to negative-3 yards on the ground in the SEC title game loss to Georgia, then managed 17 carries for 23 net yards against Indiana in the Rose Bowl. Over the final three games of the 2025 season, the Crimson Tide totaled 48 rushing yards.
The competition was elite. That part is true.
But this is Alabama. Elite is the standard.
And after what happened on Jan. 1, the run game can’t just be present. It has to be a factor.
It can’t get bullied again.
In Other News...
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Alabamas 2026 opener against East Carolina on Sept. 5 will come with a familiar game-day feel and a few additions around Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m., and the pregame atmosphere will again lean on some of the traditions that make a Saturday in Tuscaloosa feel like its own event, including the Walk of Champions, the Elephant Stomp and a concert by The M-80s at Champions Lane.
For fans planning to be in town, the bigger change may be what awaits them before and after they get to the stadium. Several new and reopened restaurants in Tuscaloosa are being highlighted as part of the weekend scene, giving the Crimson Tide crowd more options as it turns a season opener into a full-day outing. [Read more 🡒]
AJ McCarron Just Sent A Clear Message Before Keelon Russells Debut
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Russells debut arrives in a spotlight game against East Carolina, set for Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT on ABC, and the setting alone will make the early moments feel significant. For Alabama, the hope is simple: a clean first step from a young quarterback learning the role, with the kind of early confidence that can settle a season before it really gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russell Is Already Testing What Alabamas Offense Can Become
Keelon Russell is already acting like a quarterback who understands the job is bigger than just throwing the ball. Alabamas starter recently brought his offensive line together for a dinner meant as a simple thank-you, but it also served as a clear sign that he is trying to build the kind of trust and accountability that can shape an offense before the first big snap of the season. For a young quarterback, those relationships often matter as much as arm talent, especially in a system where timing and cohesion have to show up early.
Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb have both pointed to Russells progress, and their focus has centered on the communication needed to keep protection on schedule. The staff knows the line only works cleanly when the quarterback and the center are on the same page, and that kind of connection can determine how much freedom Alabama has to expand its offense this fall. The work is still unfolding, but the early signs suggest Russell is trying to set a tone that reaches well beyond the huddle. [Read more 🡒]