How Freshman Running Back EJ Crowell is Adjusting to Alabama's Fall Camp

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Every offseason there's one or two freshmen football players at Alabama who receive national attention and a ton of hype before their first collegiate snap. Running back EJ Crowell is continuing that trend.

The former five-star in-state recruit from Jackson High School has been labeled as the potential savior of a Crimson Tide run game that was among the worst in the FBS. But he suffered a setback that Kalen DeBoer described as a "soft tissue deal" in late March, and Crowell was riding a scooter while wearing a boot during A-Day.

Nevertheless, when DeBoer shared that news, he said that Crowell should be in a good spot when June hits. We're obviously well past June now, and the young running back participated during the first day of fall camp on Wednesday.

“He did some nice things," DeBoer said on Wednesday. "It’s good to see him out there, flying around. A couple times, you see what you saw from his high school highlight film. Excited to see him. We’re not in pads right now, so a lot of that is yet to be seen. But just execution, he’s got to catch the ball well.

"I think he’s got a really good head on his shoulders from what we’ve seen so far and being able to be consistent that way, learn the offense. When he gets in there in rotation with the running backs, like he was today, he did his job.”

DeBoer said a couple of weeks ago at SEC Media Days in Tampa that Crowell has "a lot of the tools that you feel lead to being a great running back" and that he's "going to be a piece of the puzzle" in the Crimson Tide's running back room. Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who calls the plays on game day, shared his early thoughts on the freshman.

"EJ is young, super explosive, runs out of his toes and has good balance," Grubb said on Thursday after Alabama's second practice of fall camp. "He's thick with the ball, he runs physical, he runs bigger than he is, he's got speed on the long end.

"He's just got to learn the game. He's got to learn how to practice full speed all the time. He's a great kid, he wants to do it, he loves being here, he's an Alabama guy. But he's physical, he's tough, he's got great hands, the sky's the limit for him. But he's got to learn the game, he's got to know how to practice and he's got a good shot."

Alabama running back Daniel Hill, who is expected to be the starter after splitting snaps with Jam Miller last year, gave his take on Crowell as well.

"EJ's been a good guy," Hill said on Thursday. "Coming in, highly touted, he was dinged up a little bit and you could see it frustrated him. But he got through that, he had a great summer and he had a great two days of practice."

The bottom line is that while Crowell has made significant strides, he's still learning the game of college football. After all, he did reclassify, as he technically should be going into his senior year of high school.

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