Alabama’s running back room is sending a message, and it’s not a subtle one.
Through the last three games, the Crimson Tide backs have combined for just over 16 carries per game. That kind of usage is hard to ignore, especially when the offense has drifted away from the run after a promising start to the 2026 season. Fans have been frustrated for weeks, but now the concern has reached one of Alabama’s own commits.
Four-star running back Nigel Newkirk, still pledged to Alabama, has reopened his recruitment and is set to visit Ohio State. His reason is pretty clear.
"I feel like they should really use the run game just a little more," Newkirk said, via Bama247’s Olivia Sayer.
That’s the kind of quote that lands because it matches what Alabama has put on tape. Daniel Hill leads the team in rushing, but he’s averaging fewer than nine carries a game.
Trae’shawn Brown and EJ Crowell, both true freshmen with plenty of talent, are sitting at eight and five carries per game, respectively. Sophomore AK Dear has been off the injury report since Week 4, yet he has only two carries all season.
That kind of distribution doesn’t just frustrate fans. It can start to shape recruiting, and maybe even the locker room.
Alabama holds commitments from Newkirk and three-star Tai Phillips in the 2027 class, but the Tide also moved quickly after news of Newkirk’s Ohio State trip surfaced, offering Wisconsin commit Kingston Allen, the nation’s leading rusher. Even so, it’s fair to wonder why a back would look at Alabama right now and see a clear path to touches.
Ryan Grubb’s track record is part of why this is such a live issue. His struggles building a run game were a major reason he was let go after one season with the Seattle Seahawks, and the same problem has followed him into Tuscaloosa. Alabama’s offense showed it could run the ball early this year, then backed off it, and the result has been a unit that has gone stale.
Kalen DeBoer may have to sort through that after the season, no matter how the rest of the year plays out or whether Alabama reaches the College Football Playoff. The concern is no longer just about one recruit. It’s about whether the current usage pattern is pushing future backs away and tempting the ones already on campus to look elsewhere.
Saturday’s game against LSU gives Grubb a chance to start changing that story. If he can get back to what worked early, the conversation shifts. If not, Alabama’s running back situation could get a lot more complicated, fast.
In Other News...
Mississippi State Just Got Pulled Into The Alabama Tennessee CFP Fight
The latest College Football Playoff rankings have only sharpened the debate around Alabamas place in the field, and now Mississippi State has been pulled into the conversation by association. The selection committee put Alabama at No. 5 and Tennessee at No. 13, even with Tennessee owning the head-to-head win, and CFP chairman Hunter Yurachek said the gap came down to Alabamas collection of quality victories against ranked opponents.
For Alabama fans, the takeaway is clear enough: the committee is rewarding resume depth over a single game result, and that makes every ranked opponent the Crimson Tide have beaten feel more valuable. Tennessees case still has its own appeal because the losses have come in close games against ranked teams, but the broader message from the committee is hard to miss, and it leaves the SEC race with another layer of intrigue as the rankings keep sorting themselves out. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads To LSU With One Road Problem Still Looming
Alabama heads into Week 10 with a top-15 showdown at LSU carrying the kind of road question that tends to follow a good team until it gets answered. Kalen DeBoers group has handled the season well enough to stay in the national conversation, but the trip to Baton Rouge brings a different test, especially with LSU also sitting among the countrys best and the spotlight on a matchup that has plenty of weight beyond the standings.
The coaching subplot adds another layer, with DeBoer and Lane Kiffin set to meet for the first time and DeBoer still unbeaten against LSU. On the other side, LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt will have to navigate an Alabama defense that has made life difficult for opponents, and the Crimson Tides ability to keep its offense steady away from home may end up being the detail that decides whether this one feels like a statement or another reminder that the road still has work left to do. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas CFP Ranking Just Sparked A Debate Tide Fans Will Feel
Damien Harris did not hide his surprise when the first 2026 College Football Playoff rankings dropped Alabama at No. 5, especially with the loss to Tennessee still hanging over the rsum. The former Crimson Tide running back, now a CBS analyst, voiced the kind of reaction plenty of fans around Tuscaloosa likely had when the bracket picture first came into focus.
Hunter Yurachek, who chairs the College Football Playoff committee, pointed to Alabamas quality wins against Kentucky, South Carolina and Mississippi State as the reason the Tide landed that high despite the setback in Knoxville. It is the sort of early ranking that can fuel a long debate, because Alabamas place near the top says as much about what the committee values as it does about the one loss everyone keeps circling back to. [Read more 🡒]