Daniel Hill has spent the offseason trying to change the conversation around Alabama’s backfield.
That conversation has been loud since the end of last season. Fans and media alike have treated the Crimson Tide’s running back room as a clear problem area, and Alabama’s pursuit of NC State transfer Hollywood Smothers reflected that urgency. Smothers ended up flipping from Alabama to Texas, leaving Kalen DeBoer and his staff to lean on improvement from the returnees and the arrival of two promising freshmen, EJ Crowell and Trae'shawn Brown.
The need is real. Alabama’s rushing season in 2025 was one of the worst in program history, and the numbers back it up: the Tide finished 132nd out of 138 FBS teams in rushing success rate, according to Game on Paper. The offensive line was part of the issue, but the backs did not do enough to lift the unit either.
For much of the offseason, it has seemed like only a matter of time before the 5-star Crowell moved ahead of Hill and took over as the featured back. Hill, though, is working to make that path a lot less certain.
One of the bigger signs of that effort has come through his work with Brad Lester, the former Auburn running back who has been coaching Hill in the offseason. Lester has shared several clips on social media showing Hill training alongside Florida RB Jadan Baugh.
Athlete: Daniel Hill
(University of Alabama)
Read React Zone Run | Duo Drill , key is Gameday speed - read react pic.twitter.com/w3lT4EQwJO
- Brad Lester (@BradLester1) August 1, 2026
Offseason Training Daniel Hill | University of Alabama pic.twitter.com/Dh9YkPRsZy
- Brad Lester (@BradLester1) July 31, 2026
Daniel Hill (Alabama) Jadan Baugh (Florida) in the lab working 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mSXmYgREbX
- Brad Lester (@BradLester1) July 31, 2026
The clips show a leaner-looking Hill, and that matters. He played last season at 240-plus pounds, but Alabama now lists him at 236, and he may be even lighter than that. The goal is obvious: trim down, get more burst, and turn a solid, physical runner into a more explosive one heading into his junior season.
Hill gave Alabama an important lift in 2025, finishing with 284 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground, plus 203 receiving yards and a touchdown as a pass catcher. His game was built more on grinding out tough yards than on sudden acceleration, but the offseason work is aimed at changing that profile.
He is expected to open the season as Alabama’s starting running back, but that spot is far from locked in. Kevin Riley and AK Dear will push for carries in fall camp, and both could force their way into the rotation.
Crowell and Brown are in the mix too, and both bring real upside. Crowell is viewed as the most talented high school running back recruit Alabama has signed since Najee Harris, while Brown entered the spring without the same recruiting buzz but turned heads with how he looked on the field. Both freshmen appear capable of earning immediate roles if the opportunity opens up.
In Other News...
Alabama Could Be Built For What College Football May Do Next
The next major shift in college sports could be decided far from Tuscaloosa, but Alabama is one of the programs that would feel it immediately. The Big Ten and SEC have both backed the Protect College Sports Act, a bill that has gathered bipartisan momentum in the Senate and is expected to come up for a vote soon. It lays out a more formal framework for how the sport would operate, including limits on athlete compensation, a one-time transfer exception and a standardized five-year eligibility window.
For a program like Alabama, where roster management, retention and recruiting are always front-and-center, those changes could matter as much as anything on the field. The proposed agent registry and fee cap would also add another layer to a system that has changed rapidly in recent years, with schools and conferences increasingly pushing for clearer rules. What remains unsettled is how much of this package will actually make it through the Senate intact, and how college football would adapt if it does. [Read more 🡒]
Kalen DeBoer Just Framed Alabamas Two Biggest Questions
At SEC Media Days, Kalen DeBoer offered a glimpse into how Alabama is thinking about both the present and the near future. The Crimson Tide coach pointed to true freshmen EJ Crowell and Cederian Morgan as players who could become part of the programs longer-term answer, a reminder that even in a place built on immediate expectations, roster development is still at the center of the conversation.
DeBoer also had a clear read on the outside perception around Alabama entering the season. With so many new faces in the mix, he acknowledged the Tide may not be getting the usual level of noise right now, but he framed that less as a problem than a challenge. For Alabama, the message was simple enough: the talking is done, and the team will have to show where it stands once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas SEC Money Race Just Got A Lot More Real
The money race in college football is getting harder to ignore, and Alabamas place in it is now part of the conversation. According to estimates compiled by CPA Patrick O'Rourke, the Crimson Tides player payroll budget for the 2026 season sits at about $36.5 million, which puts them eighth among Power Four programs. That kind of figure underlines how deeply NIL spending has become woven into roster building, especially in the SEC, where the arms race is now as much about finances as recruiting rankings.
The broader picture is even more revealing for Alabama fans: the SEC has 11 teams inside the top 20 highest player payroll budgets, with Texas, LSU and Texas A&M all projected to outspend the Tide. The numbers are still hazy, because NIL data is difficult to pin down with total certainty, but the direction is clear enough to matter. Competitive balance in college football is increasingly being shaped by who can spend, and Alabama is no longer operating at the top of that market by default. [Read more 🡒]