Getting Ready for Spring Battles!

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams-Coleman praised quarterback Keelon Russell following the 2026 A-Day spring game, stating, "it feels like you're playing a video game when 12's in". Williams-Coleman highlighted Russell's playmaking ability, noting his capacity to extend plays and create, marking a strong performance for the freshman.
Redshirt freshman.
 
Blow ups From the Highlights. # Zero, for his size , needs to add muscle. He got blown up a couple of times. #12 needs to realize he can’t be hit on A Day,but in the season that scramble out of bounds gave the defender an opportunity to blow him up. That passing combination from #12 to #8 looks lethal, and will blow up on the national stage one day.
If you're talking about the block by Dear where he got knocked through the air into the backfield it's important to note that the guy who knocked him backwards lost momentum and never got back into the play, it looked like a win for the Defender on video but in reality Dear had the right body angle and blocked his man. The defender would have needed to avoid a straight on collision with Dear if he was ever going to make a run at the ball carrier.
 
OL/RBs - Brown, the "other" freshman, had a day of noteable plays. Sounds like he has a burst we didn't see from our guys last year. With Crowell not playing, but hopefully ready by the fall, if his talent verifies, this is some good news! The OL has work to do, but it sounds like there has been some improvement! The fact that the university's official 6 minute clip included some busted OL plays means there is progress that still needs to be made, but including those "lowlights" may be a way of challenging them to be vigilant in their...

I'm afraid the more time Crowell misses the more likely he is not going to contribute this fall. One thing I've noticed over the years, is that incoming running backs who missed a lot of time due to pre-season injuries, didn't end up contributing much. I hope he can quickly heal up and start participating in scrimmages and not just "drills".
 
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I'm afraid the more time Crowell misses the more likely he is not going to contribute this fall. One thing I've noticed over the years, is that incoming running backs who missed a lot of time due to pre-season injuries, didn't end up contributing much. I hope he can quickly heal up and start participating in scrimmages and not just "drills".
That's a legit concern!

However, if he's truly as special as he seems, perhaps he transcends some of those hindrances.

With Brown making such a splash, my concern is that our returning running backs from last year do not have the potential to make dynamic plays. You'd think they would have gotten lucky a time or two last year to bust a play...but I don't remember it happening.

But Brown shows up as a freshman and he's making plays that the others from last year are not making with the same OL this spring.

So, fingers crossed for Crowell to be even better than Brown???
 
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I'm afraid the more time Crowell misses the more likely he is not going to contribute this fall. One thing I've noticed over the years, is that incoming running backs who missed a lot of time due to pre-season injuries, didn't end up contributing much. I hope he can quickly heal up and start participating in scrimmages and not just "drills".

Two of the most reliable posters on other sites with inside info on medical issues have said the news on Noah Rogers is bad.

Strongly hinting if not outright saying a Medical Redshirt is incoming.

Being that he’s a portal addition who knows if he actually ever takes a snap for us.

WR for me is officially a concern now.

I only have a lot of trust with Brooks at this point and several guys are going to need to play above expectations and stay healthy for it to not develop into a problem.

Especially when we are breaking in a new OL and QB.

I haven’t seen a timeline for Crowell but man we really needed him to be in play for a lot of early playing time.
 
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Two of the most reliable posters on other sites with inside info on medical issues have said the news on Noah Rogers is bad.

Strongly hinting if not outside saying a Medical Redshirt is incoming.

Being that he’s a portal addition who knows if he actually ever takes a snap for us.

WR for me is officially a concern now.

I only have a lot of trust with Brooks at this point and several guys are going to need to play above expectations and stay healthy for it to not develop into a problem.

Especially when we are breaking in a new OL and QB.

I haven’t seen a timeline for Crowell but man we really needed him to be in play for a lot of early playing time.
Not good on Noah, if accurate.

I was hoping for a minor knee issue that might require some minor surgery (or even just rest in the off-season).

The good news is Cedarian looks like he's been playing college football 3 years already. I think he's a day one starter!
 
Not good on Noah, if accurate.

I was hoping for a minor knee issue that might require some minor surgery (or even just rest in the off-season).

The good news is Cedarian looks like he's been playing college football 3 years already. I think he's a day one starter!

I think He, Brooks, RW, and Scott would still be potentially a really good core of WRs barring any more health related issues.

Rogers had a lot of CFB experience though and I hate to lose that when we needed it.

There are a few more younger guys but we feel really thin at this position.

1 or 2 more occurrences of bad luck could be a major problem.

Fwiw I’m now on the KR train.

I expect continued competition because that’s a smart way to play it but the separation is now clear.

We’ll have growing pains but KR is the guy.
 
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Two of the most reliable posters on other sites with inside info on medical issues have said the news on Noah Rogers is bad.

Strongly hinting if not outright saying a Medical Redshirt is incoming.

Being that he’s a portal addition who knows if he actually ever takes a snap for us.

WR for me is officially a concern now.

I only have a lot of trust with Brooks at this point and several guys are going to need to play above expectations and stay healthy for it to not develop into a problem.

Especially when we are breaking in a new OL and QB.

I haven’t seen a timeline for Crowell but man we really needed him to be in play for a lot of early playing time.

Yeah, no doubt about that. I don't care how talented he is, most rb's out of HS struggle with learning their blocking assignments, blitz pickups and adjustments. We thought it was just a Saban rule when he wouldn't let a RB on the field if they couldn't handle blocking assignments, but apparently it is a rule for a lot of college coaches. AK Dear didn't touch the field last season and I know it wasn't because he didn't know how to run with the ball in his hands. So, the more time Crowell misses, the more likely it will be he won't contribute much this season.
 
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I kind of felt like we had a lack of talent at RB last year. Maybe it was coaching (or poor OL play) but they all seemed hesitant and unsure where to go with the ball. They also looked slow.

How many of our current RBs are CKD's recruits and how many were on the team when he took the helm?
 
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Rogers... Ugh if so.

RB... I don't have much faith in the guys from last year, obviously the OL was bad, but even when they had a hole they rarely seemed to find it, and their blocking wasn't great.
 
I kind of felt like we had a lack of talent at RB last year. Maybe it was coaching (or poor OL play) but they all seemed hesitant and unsure where to go with the ball. They also looked slow.

How many of our current RBs are CKD's recruits and how many were on the team when he took the helm?

Exactly!!!
 
I kind of felt like we had a lack of talent at RB last year. Maybe it was coaching (or poor OL play) but they all seemed hesitant and unsure where to go with the ball. They also looked slow.

How many of our current RBs are CKD's recruits and how many were on the team when he took the helm?
To me, it is a priority thing. This coach and regime never emphasized the run and boy has it really shown up the past couple of years. Coach has made some adjustments but the jury is out whether he really puts running the ball as a priority. We will struggle until he makes that decisive change.
 
To me, it is a priority thing. This coach and regime never emphasized the run and boy has it really shown up the past couple of years. Coach has made some adjustments but the jury is out whether he really puts running the ball as a priority. We will struggle until he makes that decisive change.
Brown making such a splash on A-day makes me wonder if it's the returning guys who had NO splash last year!
 
Nick Kelly was on WJOX today with his take on A Day; let's just he was cautiously not optimistic about the O line and running game.
 
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