Kalen DeBoer reveals highly anticipated Alabama Crimson Tide freshman suddenly has an uphill climb in crucial position battle
Here is what we know about Alabama’s running back room halfway through spring football.
The Alabama Crimson Tide is inching ever closer to its annual A-Day scrimmage, set for April 11th at 1 p.m. Central inside Bryant-Denny Stadium at Nick Saban Field. What everyone will want to see is how the offensive line looks, and of course, which quarterback steals the show.
Well, we got a slight peek into what Ryan Williams and the quarterbacks look like over the weekend, but what about the Crimson Tide backfield? Kalen DeBoer revealed where things stand, including what’s going on with one of the Tide’s most anticipated freshmen.
EJ Crowell is dealing with a week-to-week injury
“AK [Dear] had a couple of nice runs in there. All of them got to continue to grow and get better. Daniel’s [Hill] has been consistent. I think he’s taking advantage of just kind of having an off-season to lean out. A year ago, really, from the previous 2024 season, he was still dinged up. Had to have surgery,” DeBoer said via the Alabama Crimson Tide’s YouTube channel.
“We knew it during spring ball. Had to have it after, I think that really went into him not having the off-season he probably liked and the season that he knows he can improve on and be better than so those guys are all working. EJ [Crowell] is really not taking a lot of reps, if any at all. And so, you know, that’s unfortunate, but we’ll keep working. Kevin [Riley] is building on what he showed all of us last season as well.”
“I’d say it’s week-to-week,” DeBoer added on Crowell. “Probably not day-to-day, but it’s week-to-week, unfortunately.”
What to make of Alabama’s RB room
It should be noted that Crowell heads into 2026 as a reclassified freshman. Meaning, he’s not even supposed to be in Tuscaloosa yet, much less participating in spring practice. However, spring camp was a great opportunity for Crowell to show not only that he belonged, but that he could make a serious impact in year one.
Perhaps that still occurs when things pick back up in July, but AK Dear looks bigger, Daniel Hill looks leaner, and Kevin Riley looks poised to show he’s more than a change of pace back. Crowell will have some work to do to crack the rotation, but nothing suggests the former 5-star isn’t capable of doing just that.
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