Alabama Tight Ends Haven't Gotten a Lot of Touches 'Yet' in First Two Games

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama's tight ends have a combined four catches for 52 yards on nine targets through the Crimson Tide's first two games against East Carolina and Kentucky.

It likely won't always be that way for the Tide's tight end unit that consists of players like Kaleb Edwards, Marshall Pritchett, Josh Ford, Danny Lewis Jr. and Jay Lindsey according to offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

"The touches certainly haven't shown up yet," Grubb said. "I know Marshall had a nice catch, he got called back on an illegal alignment. We just weren’t off the ball far enough. But he makes a huge play on a third-and-long, and that's the thing. For us at practice, that's what we see No. 9 do all the time. He's got great hands, he's competitive when the ball's in the air, and he's got great savvy. So that showed up a little bit, but maybe not as much as we've seen."

Pritchett already has a much bigger role in the Alabama offense this season as he's worked his way back from a preseason injury in 2025. He's someone that the Tide wants to get more involved with the passing game.

Grubb commended the position group for the role they played in opening up Alabama's running game in the win at Kentucky, especially on the touchdown runs. The Crimson Tide put up 150 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the second half.

Alabama has utilized more 12 and 13 personnel this season, with two or three tight ends on the field at a time, compared to last season. Edwards said it opens a lot more gaps, and he's looking forward to continuing to do it.

"Our standard is, we're going to get those blocks done," Edwards said after Tuesday's practice. "So we've just got to hold each other to it."

However, there is still greater opportunity to get the tight ends inovlved in the passing game as well. Edwards had 11 catches for 150 yards last season during his true freshman campaign. He had two catches for 21 yards in the season opener against East Carolina and did not record a catch on Saturday at Kentucky.

Edwards is Alabama's most experienced returning tight end after last year's leader, Josh Cuevas, was drafted to the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.

"Just knowing our jobs," Edwards said. "Grubb’s got a great plan, and so if that just means more blocking and less touches for us, or getting other people open, that’s what we’re going to do. And we’re ready to do it.”

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google