Freshman RB EJ Crowell Key for Tide's 2026 Success

Over the past two seasons, Alabama has had to rely on young playmakers in key situations, with freshmen Ryan Williams (now Ryan Coleman-Williams) and Zabien Brown scoring the game-winning touchdown and securing the game-sealing interception for Alabama over the Georgia Bulldogs. Last season, Alabama was relying on freshmen yet again, with Michael Carroll starting six games at right tackle, Kaleb Edwards emerging as a starting tight end, and Dijon Lee becoming a full-time starter by midseason for the Crimson Tide.

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In 2026, however, the canvas could be painted a little differently for the Crimson Tide, with Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer saying that while the Tide has big-time freshmen on its roster, it may not have to rely on them to play starter-level snaps early like the last two seasons.

"I think we won't need as many impact freshmen this year as we had last year. I think you can arguably say there is at least six guys that had starter reps the latter half of the season; guys that we are counting on as impact players," DeBoer said at SEC Media Days. "Ryan that year as a freshman was that guy, and we're going to need that from those guys that you mentioned. Both EJ and Cederian, I think, are guys that we'll be looking to that could have an impact that is significant and one that's needed to help our football team.

"They put in the work. They are -- they have a level of urgency knowing there is an opportunity for them to contribute at a high level. They have the capability as well."

Later on the SEC Network, DeBoer again singled out Crowell as the "piece of the puzzle" at running back.

"He shows so many things -- we didn't get a chance to see him in the spring just with some injury pieces that were going on. A lot of the tools that you feel lead to being a great running back, he certainly has those. He's got a work ethic to support those goals that he has. I'd like to think that he's gonna be a piece of the puzzle when it comes to our running back position that's going to be instrumental to us being as successful as we want to be."

Alabama's run game fell short of the Crimson Tide's standard last season, with the Tide's leading rusher having just 504 yards while the team ran for 1,562 across 15 games. It was the worst rushing attack Alabama has had since stats were tracked, was 15th in the SEC, and ranked outside of the top 120 nationally last season. An electric freshman like Crowell, who rushed for over 2,000 in his final season of high school, can be the key piece to helping remedy an Alabama rushing attack that has regressed from its once proud heritage.

Taco Casa brings you our coverage of SEC Media Days 2026 live from Tampa, Florida.

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_.