Alabama Football's Rose Bowl Practice Report

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 9 Alabama was on the practice field on Sunday as they continue preparations for Thursday's College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup in the Rose Bowl against No. 1 Indiana. The Crimson Tide looked spirited and lively as the program enjoyed its final practice before departure.

Practice Notes

The Crimson Tide appeared to get another running back in the mix as redshirt freshman Kevin Riley was participating in drills. Riley has been sidelined with a broken jaw since the Eastern Illinois game, but was serviceable during his stints in the backfield throughout the season. He's taken 56 carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns, while hauling in 19 receptions for 176 yards and another score in the passing game. Riley's return brings the running back room to full strength ahead of the bowl game.
Alabama starting Bandit LT Overton appeared to participate fully during the media viewing period. Overton missed the first two postseason games due to an undisclosed medical reason, but took to social media late last week to announce he had been cleared to return to action.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer was lively during the stretching and warm-up period, going around to multiple players, checking in on them, and getting them hyped up for the practice ahead.
During a segment where the whole team was doing stretches, Kalen DeBoer had a conversation with Ryan Williams, dapping him up and talking to him for about 20 seconds.
At one point, while the Wolf linebackers were doing a drill with a tackling dummy, Qua Russaw took two turns in a row running the same rep. Christian Robinson told him what to do differently after the first.
Strength coach David Ballou could be heard over the morning music, emphasizing that the work for the day was about to begin. He yelled about starting fast and preparing now for this week's game against Indiana. Ballou played fullback for Indiana and spent several years of his career there after his playing days concluded.
Turnovers were once again heavily emphasized on both sides of the ball. The offense opened up practice by running multiple drills that promoted ball security, while the defense ran multiple drills practicing their takeaways. Defensive backs and linebackers spent time dropping into coverage and high-pointing the football to simulate making an interception. Alabama is +8 in turnover margin this season, good for 16th nationally in 2025.
Alabama's offensive line remained the same in rotations during the media viewing portion. The group opened the practice working their double teams, as run blocking has been heavily emphasized as an area of improvement.