How Alabama's Offseason 'Bet' on Young Players is Paying Off Early in Season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— After Alabama's blowout loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl, the Crimson Tide coaching staff had some decisions to make about roster construction. Should they invest in the guys already a part of the program, or take that NIL money to go get some offensive weapons from the transfer portal?

Alabama added a few players on offense from the transfer portal, especially to build depth along the offensive line. But for the skill positions like wide receiver, running back and quarterback, Alabama, for the most part, trusted in what it had returning, and what it had coming in.

"I think it says a lot about the program and the high school kids we recruit and the development of the players here at Alabama that it’s not just a transfer portal solution place," Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan GRubb said Monday. "For us offensively, honestly, that started for us way back after the Rose Bowl when we were making decisions in the transfer portal ourself. And it was like, are we saying Jackson Lloyd’s gonna be the guy? Is Kaleb Edwards ready to do it all the time? How good’s EJ going to be? All those things. Lotzeir Brooks was a freshmen and just continue to rely on those guys and bet on them, and how that’s paid off for us has been a lot of fun because there’s a lot of things that go into a team.

"The guys have to feel like you have their back too. Certainly they’ve been paying off in that regard.”

In Alabama's 50-36 victory over Florida State, three true freshman scored for the Tide: receiver Cederian Morgan and running backs EJ Crowell and Trae'shawn Brown. Crowell and Brown have now scored a touchdown in each of the Tide's first three games.

Lotzeir Brooks, Jackson Lloyd, Kaleb Edwards, Michael Carroll, Marshall Pritchett and Keelon Russell all start or play significant reps as second-year players in the program. Brooks had his first 100-yard receiving performance on Saturday, and Edwards also had a touchdown. Russell put together his best start with 320 yards and thrree touchdowns.

"This is one of the funnest groups I’ve ever coached," Grubb said. "They’re a blast. They’re maddening at times, but they’re fun. They really are. They work their tails off. I think they’re progressing than probably what some people would’ve thought. We’ve got a ton of work to do. We’re still not anywhere close to done."

All these players provide and exciting glimpse of what the future of Alabama can be while also providing meaningful contributions right now. The threat of big offers from other schools in the transfer portal looms like a dark cloud, but the players mentioned above all have at least one year left in an offense that is averaging 47.7 points per game through the first three games.

"It’s exciting to see those guys," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "You’re just living in the moment with them, trying to maximize as quick as possible each day in what we practice. They’ve shown they can go out and make the plays. I appreciate our staff and our assessment and everyone working together to try to really understand what we had in the program and who we recruited and what that development could look like. These guys are working hard to–– they’re not perfect yet, but it’s fun seeing what they can become. Obviously you’ve got to take care of business right now, but they’re making plays, moving the chains, scoring touchdowns. These guys, they got an energy. They’re getting a swagger about them. Hopefully that will continue on and just continue to build, and I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

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