EJ Crowell keeps making the most of every chance Alabama gives him, and the numbers jump off the page. The five-star freshman is averaging 7.8 yards per carry, has scored three touchdowns on 26 touches and has forced 18 missed tackles on those runs, according to Pro Football Focus.
Still, the workload has stayed modest. Crowell had three carries against Mississippi State after getting six against South Carolina, seven against Florida State, three against Kentucky and seven against East Carolina.
So why hasn’t Alabama leaned on him more?
“EJ’s still growing into the game plans and there’s parts that can be difficult at times to have him on the field when he doesn’t have the whole offense down, but he’s getting there and he’s fighting his tail off to learn,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “And that’s as big a part as anything because he is obviously wildly effective when the ball’s in his hand.”
Crowell has appeared on the field 45 times this season, per PFF, and he has logged at least nine snaps in each of the past three games. Grubb pointed to progress in one key area as a reason Crowell’s role can keep growing.
“I thought this last week, honestly, he did a really good job on pass protection in practice and has really come around to where we can trust him in that regard,” Grubb said. “And that helps getting him in the football game. But he’s a special player and he’s growing every week, so we certainly will continue to make him a bigger part of the offense.”
Freshman Trae’shawn Brown handled the heavy lifting in Alabama’s ground game this past week, rushing 14 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Mississippi State. Brown now has 42 carries and five scores on the season.
There’s also a simple reason Crowell has been playing catchup: he missed most of the offseason with injuries, while Brown was available for most of that stretch.
That has made it important for Alabama to bring Crowell along carefully and keep him healthy for the stretch run. He’s a central piece of what this offense can become.
No. 6 Alabama will host No.
2 Georgia on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
In Other News...
Alabama May Have A New Wrinkle Georgia Can't Ignore
Alabamas blowout win over Mississippi State offered more than just points on the scoreboard. In a wrinkle that stood out to anyone watching closely, the Tide leaned on the I formation at times, giving the offense a different look under center and adding another layer to an attack that has already found ways to stress defenses. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb addressed the approach in his Monday press conference, pointing to the way the group handled itself when asked to run the ball from that alignment.
There was a hiccup on the first I formation snap, a fumble that briefly interrupted the momentum, but Grubb still came away encouraged by the physical work up front. He singled out the offensive line and tight ends for the way they executed the look, and the possibility of building around it more in 2026 gives Alabama another intriguing piece to keep in mind as bigger tests loom. For a Georgia defense preparing to dissect every tendency, even a small shift like this can matter. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Grubb Sees One Alabama Concern Georgia Could Punish
Ryan Grubb came away from Alabamas 56-23 win over Mississippi State pleased enough with the overall direction of the offense, but not quite ready to let the Tide off the hook. The offensive coordinator pointed to some early miscues, including decision making and sacks that need to be cleaned up, even while praising a running game that produced no negative runs for the first time since his arrival. He also noted Daniel Hills rare, uncharacteristic fumble as the kind of mistake Alabama can get away with against some opponents, but not as many as it would like.
No. 2 Georgia is next, and that is where those little lapses start to matter more. Alabama is set to host a defense that will be far less forgiving than Mississippi State, which makes Grubbs concerns more than just postgame housekeeping. The Tide have shown they can move the ball and control stretches of a game, but the margin for error shrinks fast when the opponent on the other sideline is built to punish shaky protection, loose ball security and the kind of early-game indecision Alabama has already identified. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Has A Sideline Concern Heading Into Georgia This Weekend
President Donald Trumps upcoming trip to the Georgia-Alabama game adds an unusual layer to what is already one of the SECs biggest matchups. For Alabama, the issue is not the crowd or the stage so much as the sideline logistics, since Secret Service protocols can create communication hiccups for coaching staffs trying to operate normally in real time.
Alabama coaches said they have dealt with similar situations before, including Trumps previous visit and other games when headsets failed, so the Tide are not entering the weekend unprepared. Still, both teams may have to adjust on the fly if the usual flow of communication gets interrupted, making the game plan only part of the challenge in Athens. [Read more 🡒]