The Position Groups That Impressed During Alabama's First Fall Scrimmage

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama held its first scrimmage of the fall on Thursday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and like any game, there were some standouts.

The Crimson Tide competed for two hours and ran over 100 plays. Throughout the scrimmage, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was impressed with a variety of position groups.

"I mean, there were times we had a couple tipped balls, so the DBs did a nice job making a play because they're picking it right up off the ground and those plays aren't always made — it wasn't just gimmes," DeBoer said during the post-scrimmage press conference. "I thought there were some good plays where we had yards after the catch. I thought the running backs were chewing up some yards there and got better as the scrimmage went along."

The defensive backs have been highly regarded this offseason, as safety Keon Sabb said in the spring that Alabama could have the best secondary in the nation. Zabien Brown and Dijon Lee Jr. will be the starting cornerbacks, Sabb and Bray Hubbard will take the safety spots and Red Morgan is very likely to start at the Husky position. A trio of these players earned spots on the three Preseason All-SEC Teams and the other two have a good chance at making the prestigious postseason rosters.

On the flip side, it appears that some receivers ran past the cornerbacks and safeties. The wide receiver room will look much different from last year, as Alabama will have to replace two 2025 starters and pair them alongside Ryan Coleman-Williams. Lotzeir Brooks recently sustained an injury and did not play on Thursday, so it's very promising to hear that some other wide receivers stepped up in his place and also created tension in the WR3 battle.

Hearing that the running backs — who were without freshman EJ Crowell — had an overall solid performance is fairly encouraging. It's important to note that AK Dear was having a "real nice scrimmage" before he exited early with an injury. Run blocking played a big role in last year's struggles, but the backs themselves also could've been better. DeBoer said on Thursday that the offensive line is "definitely not there yet," but the cohesion of the group is improving.

"So I think our D-line's just been really consistent," DeBoer continued. "I don't want to take that for granted, so I should mention that. I have an expectation for them. I think that they've done a nice job. So I thought the tight ends, as the scrimmage went along, got better. So getting guys in every snap that we take, it matters, especially with the younger guys across the board on our football team."

Defensive line coach Freddie Roach will have a fresh start in 2026, as all of the starters and most of the reserves from last season are no longer at Alabama. This unit seems to have its starting trio locked in with USC transfer Devan Thompkins at Bandit (defensive end), Oregon transfer Terrance Green at nose tackle and returning sophomore London Simmons at defensive tackle. But there's a plethora of depth between Edric Hill, Jeremiah Beaman, Kedrick Bingley-Jones and more.

All signs point to sophomore Kaleb Edwards being the starting "Y" tight end as a pass-catcher after earning All-SEC Freshman honors in 2025. Oklahoma State transfer Josh Ford is expected to be the main blocking "U" tight end and has received rave reviews from DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb throughout the offseason. Sophomore Marshall Pritchett should carve out a bit of a role as well, as he fully took advantage of his limited time on the field last season.

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