Alabama Football Practice Report from Third Spring Practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— With chilly weather outside in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama football team practiced inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility on Thursday morning.

The media had a 13-minute viewing period for its first look at the 2026 Crimson Tide team. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and some of the offensive players are scheduled to speak to the media after Thursday's practice.

Here are some of BamaCentral's practice notes and observations:

Practice report- March 12, 2026

The first team offensive line running through drills was (from left to right): redshirt freshman Jackson Lloyd, Texas transfer Nick Brooks, Cal Poly transfer Racin Delgatty, redshirt freshman Mal Waldrep Jr. and sophomore Michael Carroll.
The second team offensive line was running through the drill too quickly to really tell. As a reminder, redshirt sophomore William Sanders is out for the spring.
QB drills in order: Austin Mack, Keelon Russell, Jett Thomalla, Tayden-Evan Kaawa.
Running backs coach Robert Gillespie demonstrated a drill himself for the running backs before they went through. Daniel Hill, AK Dear and Kevin Riley led the running backs through drills.
WR drills in order: Ryan Williams, Rico Scott, Lotzeir Brooks, Cederian Morgan, Derek Meadows, Noah Rogers, Tyler Henderson, Maurice Mathis Jr.
The quarterbacks worked with the tight ends on checkdowns. This was a mix of individual and concurrent drills. They also connected on curl routes with the wide receivers. The quarterbacks and wide receivers went three at a time on these drills.
Highly-rated freshman running back EJ Crowell was dressed out for practice and was standing by the running backs but did not participate in any drills himself, at least during the media's viewing period. He had a sleeve on his right leg.
The quarterback battle between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell seemed like an even one, as they each had the same number of reps during these drills. Each of them got time with the expected first-team of wide receivers and tight ends.
We got to see Ryan Coleman-Williams wear his new jersey No. 1 and he was catching every ball thrown his way.
New Alabama wide receivers coach Derrick Nix was very animated during the drills.
6-foot-4 freshman wide receiver Cederian Morgan looks the part as he aims for a big role in 2026
Music at practice was heavy, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” were both played over the loudspeakers.
Jireh Edwards looks like he’s carved from granite. The freshman safety fits in physically with the Alabama upperclassmen and received one-on-one coaching from Kane Wommack during the circuit drills.
Freshman LB Jamarion Matthews size stands out for his age. At 6-foot-2, 252 he doesn’t get lost among Alabama’s veteran players.
It appeared as if the Wolfs, inside linebackers and Bandits were all moving through the circuit drills as one unit instead of broken up into three groups. There was cross training in edge rushing, form tackling drills and pass coverage drills.
Zavier Mincey continues to tower over everyone. At 6-foot-3, 206 pounds he could be a versatile piece for Kane Wommack this season.
Desmond Umeozulu also stands out as he’s one of the tallest defensive linemen. The South Carolina transfer is 6-foot-6 and could fit in nicely at Bandit.
Caleb Woodson and Luke Metz appeared to take the first reps with the inside linebackers with Cayden Jones and QB Reese right after. Notable order in the drills, but could easily change day-to-day.
The defensive lineman were off in the corner of the Hank Crisp Indoor facility and hard to see, creating further mystery and mystique for a position group that had a lot of turnover.
Freshman tight end Mack Sutter was knocked to the ground trying to throw a chip on an Alabama coach in a drill. He got up to catch a pass from Keelon Russell while teammates and coaches encouraged him.
Ryan Grubb spoke with Russell multiple times, coaching him up just about every time they moved to the other side of the field. At one point he pretended to take a snap while Russell watched.
Rico Scott will be a wide receiver to watch over the next couple of months, as he’s in a prime position to land one of the starting spots. He clocked 23.4 miles per hour before the 2025 season—the fastest mark on the team.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Sky for the latest news.