What AK Dear's Injury Means for Alabama's Running Back Room

Alabama sophomore running back AK Dear was having a strong spring and fall camp before suffering a lower leg injury in Thursday's scrimmage and is now expected to miss at least the first few games of the Crimson Tide's season after having TightRope surgery.

Where does that leave the rest of Alabama's running back room less than a month until the season opener against East Carolina?

The good news for the Crimson Tide is that the position is pretty deep with six scholarship running backs on the roster and presumed starter junior Daniel Hill is healthy. Hill is the most experienced player in the room and the clear leader. He rushed for 284 yards and six touchdowns last season. His six touchdowns led the team.

Dear's injury will put more on the shoulders of junior Kevin Riley to start the season. The bulk of Riley's yards last season came in Alabama's first five games (165 of his 224 rushing yards), and he missed the Iron Bowl and SEC championship with an injury. Riley also showed what kind of weapon he can be catching passes out of the backfield with 19 catches for 176 yards and a receiving touchdown in the Crimson Tide's win over Missouri.

Alabama has two freshmen running backs that have been generating a lot of buzz. EJ Crowell was the crown jewel of the Tide's 2026 signing class as a five-star, in-state player. However, Crowell missed the spring with an injury and has now sat out of the first four scrimmages since arriving on campus after not playing in Thursday's scrimmage either. Kalen DeBoer said he will not miss any games with his current injury, but his lack of practice reps as a true freshman do create some question marks about his immediate readiness heading into the season.

Fellow freshman Trae'shawn Brown was one of the lower-rated players in Alabama's class but had one of the best performances during A-Day back in April. He had a storng summer and has gotten off to a good start in the fall. A couple of his runs from Thursday's scrimmage were included in the highlight video Alabama released on social media (starting around the 0:15 mark in the video below), and Brown is now likely to get more playing time during his freshman season than originally expected back at the start of spring, especially with Dear's injury.

Back in the Crib 🏟️

BTS at Bama Fall Camp: Presented by @TMobile. Best network in the game. Best network in America. pic.twitter.com/gkHGRWHhND
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 14, 2026

Former Tennessee and Appalachian State senior running back Khalifa Keith was a late addition to Alabama's portal class this offseason as a depth piece, but this is exactly why he was added. When injuries happen, depth is needed.

The way Alabama's schedule sets up with the first three games against East Carolina, Kentucky and Florida should give the team and the offense some time to settle into the season. However, last year, Jam Miller suffered an injury in fall camp that caused him to miss the Tide's first three games, and Alabama lost the season opener at Florida State, rushing for 87 yards total in the game.

It is encouraging that Dear will not miss the whole season, but it ramps up the pressure for the other Crimson Tide running backs. This also will make the staff more cautious with the other backs in the remaining fall practices and scrimmage to try to avoid further injuries.

Alabama's struggles in the run game last year have been one of the biggest topics of the offseason and regardless of who the opponent is, the running backs will have something to prove in 2026.

Alabama Football 2026 Schedule

Sept. 5 vs. East Carolina
Sept. 12 at Kentucky
Sept. 19 vs. Florida State
Sept. 26 vs. South Carolina
Oct. 3 at Mississippi State
Oct. 10 vs. Georgia
Oct. 17 at Tennessee
Oct. 24 vs. Texas A&M
Nov. 7 at LSU
Nov. 14 at Vanderbilt
Nov. 21 vs. Chattanooga
Nov. 28 vs. Auburn

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