Alabama’s second fall scrimmage offered a clear reminder of what Kevin Riley can bring to the table.
The Crimson Tide running back, a native of Alabama, put together an eye-catching showing as camp continues ahead of the 2026 college football season, according to Touchdown Alabama. Riley reportedly broke off multiple runs and finished one of the day’s first scores, making his mark in a session where viewers viewed him as Alabama’s most explosive back.
That kind of burst fits the profile of the former four-star recruit out of Tuscaloosa County High School. Riley is coming off a 2025 season in which he logged 224 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 59 carries.
He also added 19 receptions for 176 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air. The junior appeared in 11 games and drew two starts.
At 5-foot-11 and 198 pounds, Riley has already drawn attention from Kalen DeBoer this offseason, with the Alabama coach pointing to his willingness to continue to “grow and get bigger.”
The timing of Riley’s strong scrimmage matters, too, because Alabama is expected to be without sophomore back AK Dear for some time early in the season. That situation could push Daniel Hill and Riley into the lead-back roles right away, with freshman Trae’shawn Brown also in line for carries. EJ Crowell’s place in the rotation remains uncertain after he was held out of Thursday’s scrimmage.
For Riley and the rest of the running back group, the job now is straightforward: show improvement after a quiet 2025 as a unit.
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Bud Elliotts early look at the 2026 SEC quarterback race put Alabama fans in a familiar spot: plenty of hope, and probably a little debate. In his CBS Sports ranking, the college football analyst slotted Texas star Arch Manning at No. 1, then filled out the top five with Ole Misss Trinidad Chambliss, LSUs Sam Leavitt, Alabamas Keelon Russell and South Carolinas LaNorris Sellers.
For Alabama, the noteworthy part is not just Russell cracking the list, but where he landed in a conference that rarely leaves much room for error at quarterback. Elliott also weighed recent performance and future potential in making his selections, which only adds to the intrigue around Russell heading into next season. Crimson Tide fans have spent plenty of time waiting to see what the next quarterback era will look like, and this ranking is another reminder that the conversation around Russell is already starting to get serious. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Scrimmage Left One Big QB Question And Fresh Injury Concern
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There was also a more concerning note on the injury front, as true freshman EJ Crowell sat out while continuing to work back from an ankle issue. In a camp where every rep matters, Alabama is still sorting out both its top competition and its early health picture, and the final shape of the depth chart will depend on how those pieces come together over the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Former Alabama Player Just Won A Massive Case Tied To 2023 Shooting
A former Alabama basketball player has now won a major legal battle that reached far beyond the court. An Alabama jury ordered The New York Times to pay $9.25 million in damages to Kai Spears after finding the paper defamed him by wrongly reporting that he was at the scene of a fatal 2023 shooting, a claim Spears challenged in a lawsuit filed in 2023.
The nine-day trial ended with the jury siding with Spears, putting a sharp spotlight on how a mistaken report can follow an athlete long after his playing days. The Times had acknowledged the error in its original story and said it is reviewing its legal options after the verdict, leaving the case with another chapter still possible. [Read more 🡒]