Alabama’s tight end room has a chance to be a real difference-maker for the run game this season, and the Crimson Tide need that boost in the worst way.
Last year, the group didn’t do nearly enough as blockers. It would be too easy to pin Alabama’s rushing problems on the tight ends alone, because the entire run game was a mess, but the position certainly didn’t help the backs get traction. Now, with less than three weeks left before the 2026 opener, the outlook looks much better.
Sophomore Kaleb Edwards said the emphasis this offseason has been on stripping things down and getting the basics right.
"We're just going back to basics, you know, refining just the fundamentals, the footwork, the hand placements, punching, everything like that," sophomore Kaleb Edwards said of the work the team has put in this offseason. "Just simplifying it and making sure we are good at blocking.
Edwards ended up becoming a major part of the story in the room last season. He chose not to enroll early for the spring 2025 semester so he could spend his final months of high school at home, but when Josh Cuevas went down with a foot injury and Danny Lewis Jr. dealt with injuries too, Edwards was pushed into a much bigger role than expected. He started six games late in the year.
For a true freshman, Edwards had his moments. As a blocker, though, he didn’t move the needle much.
Still, at 6-foot-6 and 264 pounds, he has the kind of frame that can matter in the run game if the rest of the development catches up. After a full year of growth, that possibility looks a lot more real now.
"I didn't expect to play as much as I did," Edwards said. "Jumping up from high school to college definitely moves quicker. There's a lot more going on, a lot more to think about, but now that I've got that year, I think it's all slowed down a little bit."
Edwards is expected to lead the group, with Marshall Pritchett, Lewis and Jay Lindsey next in line. But the name to watch is Josh Ford, the Oklahoma State transfer who has already started drawing Robbie Ouzts comparisons.
"(He brings) physicality and aggression," Edwards said of Ford. "I think he's just a great guy, and then gets on the field, and he's an animal.
He's going after people. I think that's very special."
Alabama also made a notable move by bringing in tight ends coach Richard Owens, who spent the previous seven years coaching offensive lines at UAB, Georgia Southern and Louisville. That hire was part of a broader push to improve protection across the board, and early signs suggest it’s working.
"Our attention to detail has been good," Edwards said. "I think Coach Owens has helped us a lot with that.
Just making sure that no matter how good a rep you have, there's always something to fix. And I think that has been one of our brightest spots."
The timing matters. Running back AK Dear is out for a significant stretch, and freshman EJ Crowell’s role is still unsettled while he works to get onto the practice field. That leaves even more pressure on the tight ends to clean up their blocking and help stabilize Alabama’s ground game.
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