Projecting Alabama's Spring 2026 Depth Chart

Alabama takes the field this afternoon for its first spring practice of the 2026 college football season. The Crimson Tide needs to replace key contributors on both sides of the ball, including its leading rusher, receiver, and passer from last season. Defensively, Alabama will look to replace its top three linebackers from a season ago, in addition to three starters on the defensive line.

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With spring practice starting today, who could step in with the starting unit for the Crimson Tide? Let's project what the lineup could look like for spring practice, while accounting for the five players who will be limited or miss spring practice.

First up, the offense.

Quarterback

Starter - Austin Mack
Backup - Keelon Russell
Depth: Jett Thomalla, Tayden-Evan Kaawa

This isn't a projection as to who will start game one, but rather, who will start spring practice for Alabama. Mack finished the 2025 season as Alabama's backup quarterback, filling in for Ty Simpson after he departed the Rose Bowl with an injury in the Tide's final game of the season. The competition will likely rage on through fall camp, but spring practice largely starts with last year's roster, with players moved up the depth chart based on departures during the offseason. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer told reporters last season that someone has to take the first reps at quarterback on day one. Last season, it was Ty Simpson. This year, it will likely be Austin Mack, who will have his work cut out for him in fending off Keelon Russell.

Running Back

Starter: Daniel Hill
Backup: Kevin Riley
In the rotation: AK Dear, EJ Crowell
Depth: Khalifa Keith, Trae'Shawn Brown

Hill stepped up last season for Alabama with the sporadic absences of Jam Miller due to injury, finishing the season as Alabama's second-leading rusher with 284 yards and leading the team with six rushing touchdowns once he was healthy during the second half of the season. He's down eight pounds from last season, which should help his explosiveness to get into the open field, where his size will make it hard to bring him down one-on-one. Behind him are the Tide's two returning backs from last year, with Kevin Riley finishing 2025 with 224 yards and two rushing scores, while AK Dear finished with 140 yards and three touchdowns. Five-star signee EJ Crowell is viewed as a candidate to compete for the starting gig as an early enrollee as well. This room will face a lot of scrutiny as the Tide's rushing offense was 15th in the SEC last season with 104.1 yards per game.

Wide Receiver

Starters: Ryan Coleman-Williams, Lotzeir Brooks, Rico Scott
In the rotation: Derek Meadows, Noah Rogers, Cederian Morgan
Depth: MJ Chirgwin, Tyler Henderson, Maurice Mathis Jr.
Summer enrollees: Amari Sabb, Aubrey Walker

Alabama has to replace two starters at receiver, with Germie Bernard off to the NFL and Isaiah Horton transferring to Texas A&M. The Tide has three players returning in 2026 who have at least one career start at wide receiver: junior Ryan Coleman-Williams, who has started every game he's been healthy for, Rico Scott, who had three starts in 2025, and Lotzeir Brooks, who made one start and made an immediate impact as a true freshman. All three possess a different skillset, providing balance to Alabama's passing attack. If the Tide wants a big-bodied receiver in the mix, similar to Horton last season, then Derek Meadows or Cederian Morgan (both 6-foot-4 or bigger) could crack an early rotation. Alabama tends to play multiple receivers throughout a game, so being a starter doesn't quite matter as much in this room, but Coleman-Williams, Brooks, and Scott do have starting experience, and all three possess game-changing speed to either beat defensive backs deep or take short-yardage receptions for bigger gains.

Tight End

Starters: Kaleb Edwards, Jay Lindsey
Backups: Marshall Pritchett, Josh Ford, Jack Sammarco, Mack Sutter
Out for Spring: Danny Lewis Jr.

Alabama lost the engine of its offense with tight end Josh Cuevas declaring for the NFL. The Tide returns a more-than-capable pass catcher in Kaleb Edwards, who made six starts in 2025. Edwards is a capable blocker, but Alabama Cuevas provided down-to-down consistency with his blocking, which Alabama will now need to replace. With Danny Lewis Jr. out for spring practice, it opens the door for someone else to step into the Tide's TE2 role alongside Edwards. Lindsey, a redshirt sophomore, has flashed that ability in limited reps, while former West Virginia transfer Jack Sammarco has the size to compete at that position after appearing in just two games last season. Oklahoma State transfer Josh Ford also showcased that ability during his time with the Cowboys. Marshall Pritchett got reps in key moments for the Tide last year, while former four-star signee Mack Sutter also showed his athleticism during the Tide's Rose Bowl practices in California.

Offensive Line

Starters: Jackson Lloyd, Nick Brooks, Racin Delgatty, Kaden Strayhorn, Michael Carroll
Rotation: Casey Poe, Mal Waldrep Jr., Jayvin James, Ty Haywood, Ethan Fields, Tyrell Miller
Freshmen: Chris Booker, Bryson Cooley
Out for spring: William Sanders
Summer enrollees: Jared Doughty, Bear Fretwell

The Tide returns just one offensive line starter from last season in Michael Carroll. The other four positions will potentially feature a player who did not play for Alabama last season. Jackson Lloyd is the favorite to land the left tackle position, but he will battle with Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James and Michigan transfer Ty Haywood, who both have experience at left tackle. Cal Poly transfer center Racin Delgatty is the favorite to land the center position, but he'll have to fight off redshirt freshman Mal Waldrep Jr. and potentially Strayhorn as well, who the Tide could use as a center. New offensive line coach Adrian Klemm will have his work cut out for him as he reshapes Alabama's offensive line after an offseason roster overhaul. The Tide has a handful of contenders for the two guard openings, with Ole Miss transfer Ethan Fields having experience on both sides, Texas transfer Nick Brooks, who has experience at both guard spots and right tackle, and Michigan transfer Kaden Strayhorn, who played right guard alongside Michael Carroll when both players were at IMG Academy. Offensive guard William Sanders was the favorite to win the left guard spot, but that battle was put on hold with Sanders set to miss spring practice with a back injury.

Next, the defense.

Defensive Line

Starters: Kedrick Bingley-Jones, Jeremiah Beaman, Jah-Marien Latham
In the rotation: Devan Thompkins, Fatutoa Henry, Steve Bolo Mboumoua, Isaia Faga, Edric Hill, Terrance Green
Depth: Mhari Johnson, Corey Howard Jr., Caleb Smith, Leslie Black
Summer enrollees: Malique Franklin, Nolan Wilson
Out for Spring: London Simmons

Alabama replaces three starters on the defensive line, and had significant depth from last season hit the transfer portal. Alabama added big-bodied defensive linemen Kedrick Bingley-Jones from Mississippi State and Terrance Green from Oregon, who both have starting experience. Alabama returns Jeremiah Beaman, who missed almost all of last season due to a torn ACL, and Isaia Faga played in all 15 games last season, with Edric Hill doing the same. London Simmons will miss spring practice, which opens the door for competition along the defensive front. USC transfer Devan Thompkins is up to nearly 300 pounds, which indicates he should see reps at both the interior defensive line and at bandit defensive end, which is where we've projected Jah-Marien Latham to play, despite him being listed as a linebacker in his seventh year at Alabama.

Linebacker

Starters: Yhonzae Pierre (Wolf), QB Reese, Cayden Jones
Backups: Justin Hill, Desmond Umeozulu, Luke Metz, Caleb Woodson
Depth: Xavier Griffin, Duke Johnson, Zay Hall, Abduall Sanders Jr., Jamarion Matthews

Yhonzae Pierre returns as Alabama's sack leader from 2025, finishing the season with eight. Justin Hill returns after finishing the year as the Tide's second option at wolf linebacker behind Pierre. At inside linebacker, Alabama will replace Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green from last season. QB Reese and Cayden Jones are the next two up and likely will have first-team reps early in spring practice. With the addition of Virginia Tech transfer linebacker Caleb Woodson and the vacancies in the linebacker room, the competition should be wide open, and five-star freshman Xavier Griffin could be an early candidate to fly up the depth chart. However, with this exercise projecting the Tide's depth chart on day one, Griffin will have to work his way up the depth chart on day one.

Defensive Backs

Starters: Zabien Brown*, Dijon Lee Jr., Red Morgan, Keon Sabb, Bray Hubbard*
Backups: Chuck McDonald, Jorden Edmonds, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., Zavier Mincey, Ivan Taylor
Depth: Jireh Edwards, Zyan Gibson, Rihyael Kelley, Carmelo O'Neal, Nick Sherman

Alabama returns every player who started in the Tide's final victory of the year in the College Football Playoff against Oklahoma. The Tide's secondary was its best unit in 2025, and with the returning starters, it's expected to be even better in 2025. Zabien Brown and Bray Hubbard will be limited during spring practice, and based on last year's depth chart, Chuck McDonald should step in for Brown when Brown has to miss time, with Ivan Taylor stepping in for Bray Hubbard. Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. returns as a hard-hitter who can step in at husky at defensive back. The Tide's depth in the secondary, yet again, should carry Alabama through struggles on offense. Can any of the Tide's newest additions in the secondary crack the rotation? Limited reps for stars in the secondary early could pave the way, much like it did for Dijon Lee last year when Domani Jackson missed spring practice.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.