Why Alabama's Offense Is Leaning Into Its Bigger Targets This Season

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb spoke about how his team can use the size in the receiving and tight end room.

8/17/26 MFB Fall Camp Practice 10Alabama Wide Receiver Cederian Morgan (8)Photo by Kent Gidley | Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One of the biggest stories from Alabama football's A-Day back in April was the dominance of the team's bigger receivers. Per BamaCentral's statistics, Derek Meadows, 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, and Cederian Morgan, 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, were the game's leading receivers, each catching a touchdown to go along with 76 and 69 yards, respectively.

Fast forward four months, and Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, despite still not having a starting QB named, is adamant that his big targets will have a significant role in the offense this fall.

"There are always different players for different routes, and it certainly depends on defensive structure, but if you get one-on-one matchups where you need to throw to the back of the end zone high ball, in-cut, return stuff on zone, it's certainly good to have big targets," Grubb said. "We've always carried all those different concepts in our bag, so to speak, so that we can utilize whoever is running the best. And so Cederian and Derek Meadows certainly both fit that bill down there."

Morgan, a true freshman, was dubbed "The Gulf of Mexico" (because "if you throw it in there, he's going to catch it") by Ryan Coleman-Williams after A-Day, and is the highest-rated receiver to come to Tuscaloosa since Coleman-Williams himself. Meadows, meanwhile, saw the field sparingly on offense as a true freshman last year, but boasts elite athleticism for his size.

As the duo looks to break through in a loaded receiver room, similar logic applies to the tight ends. Kaleb Edwards, 6-foot-6, 264 pounds, was thrown into the fire last year as a true freshman who did not report early, and now enters the season with polish, increased physicality, and the trust of the staff and both quarterbacks.

Marshall Pritchett, Danny Lewis Jr., and Josh Ford are also likely to see significant action, as the tight end group as a whole appears due for an uptick in usage given the emphasis being placed on run blocking. There is a high likelihood of 12 personnel being run regularly (especially as Ford prepares to serve in a fullback-like role at times), providing no shortage of options for Grubb and Kalen DeBoer.

"Do we want to try to use a big body receiver for this, or would we rather get, you know, Marshall (Pritchett) out there? Those are the kind of questions we're going to answer right now in camp," Grubb said. "But the tight end group is one of the absolute bright spots of camps so far."

In an offense that will revolve around the 6-foot-0, 184-pound Coleman-Williams, the variety and contrast that comes with the bigger targets unlocks another dimension to the Crimson Tide's passing game.

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