How Alabama's Offense Has Grown Through First Month of 2026 Season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama's offense had its moments during the 2025 season, but oftentimes the defense was the star unit. Alabama averaged 29.5 points per game, which ranked 50th in the nation, while the defense allowed 19.2 points per contest, good for 20th.

But as the Crimson Tide turned the page to 2026, a switch flipped with it. Alabama is the first FBS program since 2019 to score 45-plus points in each of its first four games. UA has accomplished this feat under the leadership of quarterback Keelon Russell, who has as many career starts as matches played this year.

"Experience is great for everybody," Alabama wide receiver Rico Scott said of Russell on Tuesday. "He plays the hardest position of any sport, but I haven't seen the confidence change since Week 1. "I would just say being more vocal. At Kentucky, people thought he had a bad first half. We didn't think any of us played that well in the first half, so he pretty much stayed vocal — that's just who he is though."

Alabama running back Daniel Hill described Russell, a sophomore, as a "general" who "leads the pack, gets us in check, gets us right and it has shown." Russell has put his dual-threat abilities on full display in the first month of the season, but Hill's been the lead back, rushing for 225 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries (4.9 yards per run).

Hill has been much more productive compared to last season, and he credits his vision and power as his biggest improvements. That said, the run game between 2025 and 2026 has been night and day, as Alabama was near the bottom of the FBS in rushing yards and now ranks 31st of 138 teams.

A lot of the positives lie in the additions of offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and tight ends coach Richard Owens. These two position groups have made a massive difference in the run blocking, and Hill gave shoutouts to tight ends Josh Ford, Danny Lewis and Jay Lindsey for their efforts.

"We're improving every week, just trying to do the little things right," Hill said. "Just continue to stack and execute the little things. Coming to practice every day trying to get better as a group... I mean, yes [the run blocking is different from last year], you've obviously got guys that are willing to do their job and execute the plays."

The wide receivers have also played a role in the run blocking, and Scott has been fairly impressed with his unit's abilities in addition to running routes and catching the ball. That said, he admitted he personally needed to improve run blocking after committing two holding penalties during the past couple of games.

"I feel like we've been solid," Scott said. "We've got a lot of things to clean up still. It kind of goes back to the penalties I had. But we've been solid and there's still room to grow. I'm not surprised by anything we've done, as far as the success we've had, though."

No. 7 Alabama aims to continue thriving on offense on Saturday against No. 16 Mississippi State in Starkville. So, what does Scott want to see from the wide receivers against the Bulldogs?

"I would say just be more detailed," Scott said. "No mistakes from our room. We hold ourselves to that standard as we expect the team to lean on us. So just going out there to make mistake-free football. Kind of just striving to be perfect. I know a lot of people think that's impossible, but we don't see it that way."

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