Ryan Grubb Praises RB Duo of EJ Crowell and Daniel Hill

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.-- OC Ryan Grubb met with the media this morning following the Crimson Tide's 50-36 win over the Florida State Seminoles. What seemed to be a slow start may have been taken out of context, Grubb stated in his opening statement:

"The first two drives, you know, we had two punts, and to be quite honest, probably not quite as far off as everybody thinks. You know, our 1st 3rd down, I think, was third and three. We just barely slid out of a down block on a 0, and honestly, we had a big crease there had we accomplished that. And then on our 3rd down on the next series, you know, Lotty[Brooks] doesn't quite run out of the break the way Keelan thought he was going to. There was a ton of space on the sideline open there. So we ended up about a yard short on that one. And, you know, after that, they went on 9 straight scoring drives. So they did settle in pretty quickly. We had a good plan as far as for Keelon to be able to get him started simple and get the run game going as quick as we could."

Alabama went on to score on its next nine straight offensive drives, scoring its first touchdown of the game just before the second lightning delay before halftime. The Crimson Tide has made sure to prove that the run game is back this season after a disappointing rushing attack during the 2025-2026 season. Alabama averaged just 104.1 rushing yards per game last season, and now a quarter of the way through the 26-27 season, Alabama is averaging 209.7 rushing yards per game with a running back room of Daniel Hill, EJ  Crowell, and Trae'shawn Brown.

Grubb said that "  I think him and Daniel are both really good inside the 10-yard line running in football, both big, strong, 225-pound-plus guys that, you know, can get their shoulders square or win with speed. So we've done both. We've hit the ball on the inside. Oh, man, threaten them on the outside, so I think there's a really good balance going on right now between those 2 guys."

It's also worth mentioning that Head Coach Kalen DeBoer stated both running back AK Dear and wide receiver Noah Rogers will be available for the first time this season. Adding Dear to the RB room that has already been heavily rotated during games will be a tough beat for opposing teams. Alabama has four 100+ yard rushers a quarter through the season with QB Keelon Russell, RB's Daniel Hill, Trae'shawn Brown, and EJ Crowell, with Hill leading the team with 210 yards and three touchdowns.

The Crimson Tide will face the South Carolina Gamecocks on its first "real night game of the season," with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 pm on Saturday night.

Ryan Bond is an intern for Tide 100.9 with an avid interest in college football and college basketball. To keep up with Ryan, follow him on X at @Ryanb5172