Alabama’s passing game is starting to show who the offense trusts when the ball needs to move.
Against Florida State in a 50-36 win, sophomore receiver Lotzeir Brooks stepped into that role in a big way. He finished with a career-best eight catches for 101 yards, pacing Alabama’s receivers and doing plenty of the heavy lifting as the Crimson Tide rolled up 567 total yards.
Brooks was targeted 11 times, four more than junior wideout Rico Scott and at least eight more than any other Alabama receiver. For a player who caught 32 passes for 441 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman in 2025, Saturday’s outing was a sharp jump - nearly a fourth of that season total in one game.
"I always work hard," Brooks said. "I always know the moment's going to come to me."
The production has been building. Brooks had just two catches on two targets for 23 yards against East Carolina, then followed that with five receptions on five targets for 54 yards at Kentucky. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said the steady rise has come from Brooks being exactly where the quarterback wants him.
"Lotzeir is doing a nice job, I think, being quarterback-friendly, finding his route and being in a spot where the quarterbacks expect him to be," Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer said.
His biggest snap came on a 40-yard catch from Keelon Russell, a play that set up Kaleb Edwards’ 16-yard touchdown and pushed Alabama ahead 26-21 with 22 seconds left in the first half. That was the Crimson Tide’s first lead of the day.
"It really just comes down to us starting fast and just finishing," Brooks said. "We start fast, nobody can stop us."
That sequence capped a wild close to the half. The touchdown was Alabama’s third in the final 2:36, a stretch in which the Tide scored 20 points on five plays covering 140 yards.
DeBoer liked the balance, too, and said the offense is showing it can hit multiple targets and make life harder on defenses.
"I think there (are) positions you want to put guys in to let them go one-on-one, windows that you feel Keelon probably favors throwing to, and it's going to continue to go when you have more than one target," DeBoer said. ... "I love that we're spreading the wealth of different guys and just making it tough the defend."
Alabama is now 3-0 and will face South Carolina at 6 p.m. CT on Sept. 26 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
In Other News...
Alabamas Slow Starts Are About To Get Seriously Punished
Alabama has survived its first three games, but the early warning signs have been hard to miss. The Crimson Tide have needed second-half rallies to steady themselves, and that habit is about to be tested by a schedule that leaves very little room for slow starts. What looked like manageable early-season turbulence now sits in the shadow of a run that brings ranked opponents and real pressure almost immediately.
South Carolina and Mississippi State loom as the next checkpoints, and both carry enough intrigue to make Alabamas opening stretches matter even more. LaNorris Sellers and Kamario Taylor are among the names to watch in those matchups, but the broader concern for the Tide is simpler: if the sluggish opening quarters continue, the margin for error disappears fast once Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU all come into view. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads To South Carolina With Problems It Can't Keep Ignoring
Alabamas win over Florida State in Week 3 gave the offense plenty to like, with quarterback Keelon Russell helping the Tide score on nine consecutive drives. But the celebration came with a sharp reminder of how much cleaner the overall product still needs to be, because the defense gave up nearly 500 yards and 36 points in a game that could have easily turned into a much bigger conversation about balance.
As Alabama turns to South Carolina, the same issues are sitting right in front of it: slow starts that leave little margin for error, explosive plays that flip momentum, and third-down situations that have too often put the defense on its heels. Kane Wommacks unit will have to show it can sustain a better level for four quarters, because the Tide can afford to admire the offenses rhythm only if the other side of the ball stops creating new problems. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Win Was Comfortable But UTSA Exposed One Lingering Concern
Texas left Alabama with little doubt in Week 3, but the broader non-conference slate still gave the Crimson Tide something to think about. Across the American Conference, teams went 2-7 outside league play, and UTSA was one of the better examples of a team that at least found a little footing on one side of the ball. East Carolina also grabbed a needed win over Old Dominion after a rocky start, while Florida Atlantic and North Texas had mixed showings in their own games.
For Alabama, the comfort of the final result did not erase the fact that UTSA managed to reveal a lingering concern. The Roadrunners were better defensively than they had been earlier in the season, but their offense never really got going in the loss to Texas, which is the kind of uneven performance that can still matter for the Tides long view of where this team stands. Alabama got the win it wanted, but games like this are useful reminders that the details underneath the score still deserve a close look. [Read more 🡒]