The Alabama Wide Receiver Who Had 'A Lot More Opportunities' in Final Scrimmage

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama's wide receiver room has a major question that still needs to be answered.

Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks will both start at the position in the season opener, but the third spot has been, and still is, vacant. NC State transfer Noah Rogers was expected to acquire it, but he sustained an injury at A-Day in April and the setback will bleed into the season.

The Crimson Tide has been trying to figure out who that third starter will be for quite some time, and the candidates got some reps during Thursday's scrimmage in Bryant-Denny Stadium. But one wide receiver played even more than expected due to Brooks being sidelined with an injury he sustained during the Aug. 13 scrimmage.

"Yeah, Meadows got a lot more opportunities today, and that's a lot of times what it comes to," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the Crimson Tide's second and final scrimmage. I thought Derek, and again, a lot of it's because of the opportunities you get, he got more opportunities today than most of the receiving core."

"I thought today was a really good growth day for him, with competitive catches in particular. Using that big body to go up and make some plays. You're not going to catch them all — ball placement, the defender you're going against — but I like the way he's battling, and he's really growing."

For the second consecutive year, Meadows, a sophomore, is Alabama's tallest wide receiver, standing at 6-foot-5. He's one of multiple candidates for the vacant third starting receiver spot because of his large catch radius and the advantages that come with it in the red zone and jump balls. Additionally, he had by far the most targets at A-Day with nine, resulting in five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.

DeBoer said on April 6 that Meadows "has had some big plays throughout the whole spring," and Coleman-Williams said after A-Day that Meadows' performance was "nothing that I didn't expect" due to him being "super consistent." Additionally, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said on Aug. 10 that Meadows "might be one of the hardest workers on the team, both in the classroom and on the field."

Additionally, when BamaCentral asked Coleman-Williams at Alabama Media Day to name a sleeper in his position group, he chose Meadows.

"Last year, [Meadows'] freshman year, he got some snaps obviously, but this year he's attacked the offseason well," Coleman-Williams said. "But I think with us having so many guys — so many young guys and so many old heads — I think people have been sleeping on him a little bit. I'm just excited for what the rest of this camp will hold for him."

As previously stated, Meadows is one of multiple candidates for that third wide receiver job, and DeBoer has been pleased with another pass-catcher's recent performance

"I thought Rico [Scott] two days ago really took advantage of some balls that came his way, made a lot of nice plays," DeBoer said. "[Meadows and Scott] are both very trustworthy with everything. The responsibilities, it's not about that now, it's about going out and using your athleticism to make plays."

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google