Alabama has taken its biggest preseason hits, and the good news is the worst of the contact work is basically behind it.
There will still be a few practices with some scrimmage-like work mixed in, but the volume is set to drop sharply compared with Fall Camp. That doesn’t make injuries impossible - players can still get hurt even in non-contact periods - but it does mean the Tide should be looking at a much lower risk of new damage from here on out.
That matters because Alabama has already absorbed more than its share. Including projected starting wide receiver Noah Rogers, who was injured during the A-Day Game, as many as eight expected contributors have been sidelined at one point or another.
Rogers is one of the names the Tide is waiting on, along with AK Dear, freshman Jordan Edmonds and JUCO cornerback Nick Sherman. Dear, Edmonds and Sherman are expected to miss games, though Sherman’s status hasn’t been updated since the second scrimmage and he could be back sooner.
The injuries didn’t stop there during camp. EJ Crowell, Lotzeir Brooks, William Sanders and Casey Poe all missed time, and Crowell and Brooks were out for Thursday’s scrimmage.
Kalen DeBoer has said neither one will miss any games. Sanders and Poe have already returned.
Even with that list, Alabama appears positioned to survive the preseason without a major injury crisis, provided nothing else goes wrong. Losing Dear and Rogers for any stretch is still a real blow.
Dear had been building buzz inside the program with his camp performance, while Rogers was brought in to add needed game experience to the receiver room. At 6'2" and 206 lbs., he arrived from North Carolina State with a reputation for winning 50-50 balls.
But the Tide has bodies at the positions that matter most here, and that’s why the outlook stays encouraging. DeBoer has repeatedly singled out Daniel Hill during the offseason, and Hill, Trae'shawn Brown, Kevin Riley and, once healthy, EJ Crowell give Alabama options at running back.
At receiver, Ryan Coleman- Williams and Lotzeir Brooks will be joined by either Rico Scott or Derek Meadows as starters. DeBoer has spoken highly of both of them lately.
JUCO transfer Tyler Henderson has also turned heads, and freshman Cederian Morgan has teammates convinced he catches everything thrown his way. That gives Alabama a six-man wideout rotation even without Rogers, with Morgan and Meadows carrying the size to be the red-zone target Isaiah Horton was last season.
When Dear and Rogers are ready, they won’t be handed anything back. Both are viewed as playmakers, but they’ll have to earn their spots again once they rejoin the mix.
In Other News...
Alabamas Defensive Rotation Is Starting To Reveal A Few Early Clues
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From Bandit and nose tackle to Wolf linebacker, Husky and the safety spots, the list reflects a defense that is already sorting out its roles rather than treating every job as up for grabs. There is still time for the picture to change, and the final call on several positions will be worth watching, but Alabama at least has a working outline as it heads toward game week. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Is Making A Strong Early Push For Rising 4-Star Receiver
Maximus Curry is already drawing national attention, and the 2028 four-star wide receiver from Battle Ground Academy in Tennessee has the offer sheet to match. With more than 25 Division I offers on the table, Curry has begun narrowing his early focus to a few programs that have separated themselves, including Tennessee, Alabama and Miami, as he weighs where the right long-term fit might be.
For Alabama, the early push has centered on relationship-building. Curry has pointed to the coaching staffs communication and the way they have connected with his head coach as meaningful parts of the process, and the Tide are planning to get him on campus this fall. For a prospect this young, those ties can matter as much as anything else, and Alabama appears intent on staying in the conversation as his recruitment unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama WR Noah Rogers Just Changed An Early Season Concern
Noah Rogers was back on the practice field for Alabama this week, a welcome development after the transfer wide receiver went down with a knee injury during the A-Day scrimmage. The setback had raised concerns that he would miss part of the 2026 season, and Kalen DeBoer had already signaled that Rogers was making progress in rehab but likely would not be ready for the opening stretch.
His return gives the Tide a little more optimism at a position group that has been watching his recovery closely. It does not lock in a Week 1 availability timeline, but it does suggest Rogers is moving in the right direction at a time when Alabama would rather be building depth than managing another early-season uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]