The Main Area Where Alabama has 'Some Work to Do' Following 2026 A-Day

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There was some deja vu at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Alabama held its A-Day scrimmage, but unlike previous years, this was not the Crimson Tide's final meeting of the spring. Head coach Kalen DeBoer and company will have two more practices this upcoming Tuesday and Thursday.

While A-Day is more of a fun environment rather than an Iron Bowl-esque matchup, UA knows that it has plenty of work to do before the season opener. Some of the mistakes made will be addressed over the final two practices, but these issues won't get fixed over the next week.

There's no way to sugarcoat that Alabama football's run game struggled all throughout the 2025 season. The Crimson Tide's 104.13 yards per game last year was the second-worst in the SEC, holding an extremely slim lead over last-place LSU (104.00).

"There are times in a game where you try to have the approach of wearing down, you work plays off of plays," DeBoer said on Saturday. "You are going out there, it's ones and twos and you are back and forth, so sometimes it's even hard for me to sit back there and think about what group had the most consistency.

"A couple of seams at times that I remember, I think with the ones, and that is really who you are trying to hone in on. Both sides of the ball, trying to keep it simple and get guys out there. There is more complexity that you can have with the defensive scheme."

Three days before the scrimmage, DeBoer spoke with The Next Round about the run game, stating that improvements have been made "across the board" and the "caliber of the scout team" has increased to create an iron-sharpening-iron image.

But on A-Day, Alabama had five running backs combine for 64 yards on 31 carries. That's roughly 2.1 yards per carry. Daniel Hill, the expected starter, rushed for 31 yards on 10 attempts, including a 12-yard gain on his first attempt.

"There are more things that you can do offensively as well. I think there are a few things that we can hang our hat on that we can execute well," DeBoer said. "There were some backs who you guys saw that stood out, who can make the cuts and run some people over when they needed to. Who got it done and maybe who has some more work to do.

Alabama offensive lineman Michael Carroll will be key in boosting the run game this season. Carroll, who is coming off an All-SEC Freshman season, has mostly played right guard instead of right tackle during the spring.

"I definitely want to see improvement on my technique and just getting the calls down after I got moved inside," Carroll said after the scrimmage. "Just having my physicality, pick that up and be the best guard I can be for Alabama...I would just like to see us all come together, being physical and open up big gaps. We're just going to continue to build on it."

He's the only remaining starter from last year's offensive line, and on top of it, the Crimson Tide fired offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic and hired USC defensive analyst Adrian Klemm.

"It's a little different, because I knew coach Kap for a while," Carroll said. "But coach Klemm came in here, he's very serious, he expects a lot out of me. I just try to give that to him every day...[During the scrimmage, Klemm] was like, 'Guys, we've got to pick it up, honestly. It was alright, some good things, but we've got to keep it going."

So, as the summer looms, what did DeBoer think of his offensive line at A-Day, and where does the unit go from here?

"What I do feel is that their communication, their technique and execution are getting better," DeBoer said. "It's not something that happens overnight. They continue to work. We still have a whole week ahead of us in practice and we expect them to get better. I think from the center on out, the communication, guys are on the same page.

"There are not a lot of guys busting assignments, which is going to happen here and they're still in the spring. New faces have been inserted, but I thought for the most part, we are getting the play off to a good start here in the early stages of spring."

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