Alabama’s budding star in the backfield isn’t the name that everyone was expecting ahead of the Crimson Tide’s 2026 season
The Alabama Crimson Tide may have found a diamond in the rough at running back, and it’s not the name that many envisioned.
The Alabama Crimson Tide held its annual A-Day scrimmage last week, and while it was the quarterbacks who stole the show alongside the freshman wide receivers, the running game struggled.
Which, in all fairness, is to be expected when you have an offensive line made up of almost entirely new starters, and a group dealing with injuries and change. Speaking of injuries, Alabama RB EJ Crowell was the one everyone wanted to see, but he missed most of spring with a lower-body injury. So instead, it was the name that not many knew before Saturday, who was turning heads in Tuscaloosa.
Trae’shawn Brown impresses during A-Day
Brown took full advantage of his reps not only on Saturday but throughout the spring. That backfield is crowded, even with Crowell being on the mend. Kevin Riley and Daniel Hill are the clear frontrunners to start, but that hasn’t stopped Brown from showing out.
“The guy I thought had a nice week was Trae’shawn,” Coach DeBoer told TD Alabama following a spring scrimmage. “Showed it a little in the scrimmage, but I thought throughout the week, there were some live sessions, short yards, goalline, and things like that, that he showed some pop. He showed some instinctiveness on how to get that first down when it was third-and-2, fourth-and-1… I think he’s had some good progress here in the spring.”
Brown is a very similar body type to former Crimson Tide standout Josh Jacobs. They both have compact frames with a lower center of gravity, but Brown might be more springy in his running style, whereas Jacobs was, and still is, a power runner.
Either way, having players who show up so early in their development at the capstone is never a bad thing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brown get some real burn in 2026.