Alabama’s push to fix its run game begins with a simple message from Ryan Grubb: stop settling and start chasing something better.
The Crimson Tide offensive coordinator said the goal for him, tight ends coach Richard Owens and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm is to help “resurrecting the run game.” And after Alabama’s second fall camp practice Thursday, Aug. 6, Grubb made it clear he believes the work is already underway.
“And we will,” he said.
That overhaul has drawn plenty of attention to freshman five-star recruit EJ Crowell, and it’s easy to see why. Alabama finished near the bottom of the SEC in both yards per game and yards per touch on the ground, so the idea of a young, explosive back changing the conversation has real appeal.
Grubb didn’t shy away from Crowell’s upside. He called the former Jackson High School standout explosive, balanced, physical and fast, and said the “sky's the limit” for him. But the first word out of Grubb’s mouth was telling: “young.”
“He's just got to learn the game. He's got to learn how to practice full speed all the time.
He's a great kid. You know, he wants to do it.
He loves being here. He's an Alabama guy."
For now, Grubb’s emphasis seems to land more on Daniel Hill, the third-year back expected to anchor the renewed rushing attack. Hill has changed physically, and Grubb said his game has changed with it.
“I think it starts with him,” Grubb said of Hill.
Hill said the entire room has taken a hard look at what went wrong and what needs to be different.
“We know the things that we had to work on as a coaching staff and as a running back room,” Hill said. “They gave it. They showed us the good and the bad, and we know that we had to come in and do something different.”
Grubb also pointed to second-year back AK Dear, saying he has made “a ton of progress,” and third-year returner Kevin Riley, who is back after breaking his jaw and brings explosiveness of his own. First-year back Trae'shawn Brown is another name Grubb sees as part of the mix.
“I think we got a lot of weapons in that room,” Grubb said. “It's highly competitive. The guys know that every rep counts and they've kind of, they've been prepping that way.”
Alabama opens the 2026 season at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Bryant-Denny Stadium against East Carolina.
In Other News...
Alabamas New Offensive Line Has Become Camps Biggest Test
The first preseason practice offered an early look at one of Alabamas biggest roster projects, a rebuilt offensive line that has been put together almost from scratch. Adrian Klemm is working with a group that mixes freshmen, junior college additions, transfers and only a few experienced returners, which makes every rep in camp matter a little more as the unit tries to settle into something reliable.
Kalen DeBoer said the group showed real progress in cohesion and consistency, a promising sign for a position that often takes longer than anything else on offense to come together. William Sanders, Michael Carroll and Jackson Lloyd give the Tide some familiarity inside the room, while transfers Jayvin James and Nick Brooks have also flashed improvement as the right tackle battle starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Kalen DeBoers SEC Standing Says Plenty About Alabamas Stability
Kalen DeBoers place in the latest SEC job-security conversation says as much about Alabamas current footing as it does about the coach himself. The leagues head-coaching pecking order is being sorted with an eye toward the 2026 season, using the usual markers of stability like recent performance, contract situation and program momentum, and DeBoer lands comfortably in the group viewed as secure rather than under the microscope.
That matters in a conference where the standards never really relax and the pressure can shift fast, especially when names like Kirby Smart remain firmly in the very secure tier while others are framed by rising expectations. For Alabama, the takeaway is less about where DeBoer sits on a speculative list and more about what it suggests: the program is still being viewed as steady enough that its coach is not getting lumped into the churn that tends to follow a shaky stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas WR3 Battle Now Comes Down To Ryan Grubbs Trust
Alabamas search for a third starting wide receiver has taken on extra weight in fall camp after an injury opened the door for a new face to emerge. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has made clear the spot will not simply go to the fastest or flashiest option, but to the receiver who can make plays and fully grasp the offense, which makes this one of the more important camp competitions on the roster.
The battle has been trimmed to a handful of candidates, with Rico Scott, Derek Meadows, Cederian Morgan and Tyler Henderson all working to separate themselves. For Alabama, the question is less about finding another body at the position than identifying the receiver Grubb can trust when the games start to matter, and that decision may come down to how quickly one of those young players can prove he belongs in a real role. [Read more 🡒]