Halfway through the regular season, Alabama has already packed six games into its schedule and sits at 5-1 after last week’s heartbreaking loss to Georgia. With Tennessee coming up this weekend, it’s a fitting moment to sort through the Crimson Tide’s roster and separate the players who have outperformed preseason expectations from the ones who still haven’t found their footing.
Trae’shawn Brown is the clearest name on the rise. The freshman running back had been trending toward a role by the end of fall camp, but he has gone well beyond that.
Brown has already climbed past junior Daniel Hill to lead Alabama in rushing, and his 90-yard showing against Georgia only added to a strong start. He’s up to 301 rushing yards and five touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
That total could look even stronger if not for two long touchdown runs that were wiped out by questionable holding calls.
Brown’s emergence has helped make Alabama’s backfield look far healthier than it did a season ago. He and freshman EJ Crowell have brought fresh talent into the room, while Hill has given the Tide a steady veteran option.
AK Dear, meanwhile, has not had the same kind of breakout - though his situation comes with an asterisk. The sophomore missed the first three games because of an injury suffered in the first scrimmage of fall camp, and since returning he has touched the ball just twice for six yards.
Before the injury, there was plenty of buzz that Dear had made a leap and was the most impressive back in practice. But Brown, Crowell, and Hill have all played well enough that the opportunities haven’t opened up yet.
That doesn’t mean they won’t later in the season.
Rico Scott has also beaten the preseason script. When NC State transfer Noah Rogers was injured in spring practice, Scott grabbed the opening and never gave it back.
Many expected younger receivers like Derek Meadows and Cederian Morgan to push him aside, the way Lotzeir Brooks did a year ago. Instead, Scott has started every game and delivered dependable production both as a receiver and as a blocker.
He ranks third on the team with 224 receiving yards on 18 catches and is second with three touchdown receptions. His work on the edge has mattered, too, and with Ryan Coleman-Williams likely out this weekend, Scott could see more targets against Tennessee.
On the other side of the ledger, Dijon Lee has had a rough sophomore season. He entered the year with big expectations after a strong freshman campaign, and the belief was that he and Zabien Brown would form one of college football’s top cornerback pairs.
That hasn’t happened. Lee has been a steady problem in coverage and is a major reason Alabama sits 105th nationally in yards per pass attempt allowed.
His late-game personal foul against Georgia was especially costly, giving the Bulldogs an automatic first down and helping them drain the rest of the clock. Kane Wommack addressed accountability in his Monday press conference, and a change at corner this weekend would not be a surprise.
Kedrick Bingley-Jones belongs on the stock-up list as well. His transfer addition flew a bit under the radar, and plenty figured he would settle in as a depth piece.
Instead, he has become one of Alabama’s most important defensive linemen, stepping into a starting role in the middle and posting 17 tackles and half a sack. Through half a season in Tuscaloosa, he has nearly matched what he produced last year in Starkville.
With Terrance Green banged up, Bingley-Jones could be even more central against Tennessee.
Edric Hill has had the opposite kind of year. He has struggled to earn consistent snaps in the defensive line rotation, pushed down the depth chart by portal additions Devan Thompkins, Green, and Bingley-Jones.
After showing some encouraging film a year ago, he hasn’t made much of an impact so far. Injuries up front may give him a chance to work his way back into the mix in the weeks ahead.
In Other News...
SEC Response To Alabamas Georgia Frustration Wont Ease Many Fans
The aftermath of Alabamas game with Georgia has turned less on the final outcome than on the officiating decisions that left plenty of Crimson Tide fans frustrated. Several calls were disputed during the game, including a no-call on a potential pass interference, and the conversation spilled into the public view as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addressed how the league handles those kinds of controversies.
Sankey said the conference does not comment on judgment calls made by officials, while also stressing that officiating is difficult and that the SEC will review errors involving rule application. For Alabama fans still looking for clarity, though, that distinction is unlikely to calm much of the noise around a game that already had enough contentious moments to linger well beyond the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
National Analyst Reignites Georgia Alabama Officiating Debate After Bulldogs Win
Joel Klatt has stirred the pot again in the aftermath of Georgias win over Alabama, using his podcast to revisit the kind of officiating debate that tends to linger long after the final whistle. The national analyst pointed to a non-called pass interference in the fourth quarter as the clearest example of what he felt went Georgias way, framing it as a moment that may have helped shape how the game played out.
For Alabama fans, the frustration is obvious because the loss already carried plenty of weight in a marquee matchup. Klatt did not go so far as to suggest the Crimson Tide were out of the national picture, though, making clear he still views Alabama as a legitimate College Football Playoff championship contender despite the controversy that followed the game. [Read more 🡒]
Nate Oats Signals Progress As Alabama Waits On Aden Holloway
Aden Holloways return to Alabama basketball is still on hold, but the situation around his suspension has moved in a more encouraging direction. Holloway is serving a five-game absence tied to a spring arrest on marijuana charges, a stretch that includes three exhibition games and two regular-season games, even though those charges were dismissed after he completed the Second Chance Program. He has already been reinstated to the roster, which at least gives Alabama a clearer path forward as it waits for the final green light.
Nate Oats and athletics director Greg Byrne have both spoken publicly about Holloways progress, a sign the program is tracking the situation closely rather than treating it as a distant off-field issue. For Alabama, the delay matters because Holloway is not just back in the system, he is still not allowed to play, leaving the Tide to manage the early schedule without him while the last step in the process plays out. [Read more 🡒]