Kalen DeBoer arrived at SEC Media Days prepared for the inevitable questions surrounding Alabama’s rushing attack, the glaring weakness of an offense that has too often lacked a physical edge during his tenure.
The Crimson Tide finished next-to-last in the SEC in rushing yards per game last season, then watched those concerns become impossible to ignore under the brightest lights. Indiana dominated Alabama at the line of scrimmage during the College Football Playoff, exposing a physicality gap that could no longer be explained away.
That disappointment shaped the offseason. Restoring Alabama’s identity became a non-negotiable priority, beginning with a tougher presence up front and greater creativity in the backfield. DeBoer wants more than improved rushing totals. He needs an offense capable of imposing its will, controlling games and delivering when finesse alone is not enough.
“We want to be able to run the football better. I think that will help our overall team,” DeBoer said. “That’s something that we’ve addressed and stressed within our team.”
That starts with establishing Alabama’s running back rotation early, led by junior Daniel Hill and redshirt sophomore Kevin Riley. AK Dear and true freshman EJ Crowell should also receive opportunities as the Crimson Tide search for a dependable lead back capable of creating yards when blocking breaks down behind a rebuilt offensive line.
Offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor departed as a first-round NFL Draft pick, center Parker Brailsford came off the board in the fifth round and Alabama turned to player development and the transfer portal to fill the remaining holes up front. Whether this group can develop the nastiness — something that can be emphasized but not taught — necessary to compete with the SEC’s best remains to be seen.
“Hopefully we can find a group here that really jells together, communicates at a high level where everyone is on the same page,” DeBoer said. “We have a younger group, but that leads to the eagerness these guys have to be coached and pushed.”
Crimson Tide’s running game woes
The Crimson Tide have produced occasional flashes on the ground, but consistency between the tackles has been missing. Alabama has not controlled the line of scrimmage with the authority expected from a program that for so long prided itself on overwhelming opponents at the point of attack.
The Crimson Tide must become more comfortable winning ugly, converting short-yardage situations and leaning on the offensive line to protect leads late in games.
Alabama recorded just 42 rushing plays of at least 10 yards last season, its lowest total in more than a decade. The lack of explosive runs reflected the absence of a featured back and an offense that leaned too heavily on Ty Simpson’s arm.
Opposing defenses knew the Crimson Tide could impose their will when necessary. That element has faded under DeBoer. If Alabama expects to navigate another demanding SEC schedule and contend for a national championship, restoring that physicality must be the program’s top priority. The 2026 season should reveal whether that toughness is returning — or whether it’s gone for good.
A work in progress
DeBoer added 11 new players up front and hired offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, overhauling a unit that fell short of Alabama’s standard last season.
“We aren’t there yet,” DeBoer said Wednesday. “We got to have a great fall camp of really execution-wise and I think that’s what it comes down to is execution. Executing your individual footwork. Confidence in the guy next to you. You may know what you’re doing and you may do your job well, but if you’re just a little bit unsure of what the next guy’s footwork is. We had a lot of new faces that were in the lineup.
Alabama is not expected to start a senior along the offensive line, but this group is hardly lacking experience. Coming out of spring practice, the projected starting line featured redshirt freshman Jackson Lloyd at left tackle, sophomores William Sanders and Michael Carroll at guard, fourth-year junior Racin Delgatty at center and junior Jayvin James at right tackle. Carroll, an All-America candidate, is the lone returning starter and is expected to slide inside after finishing the 2025 season at right tackle.
James transferred from Mississippi State, while Delgatty comes in from Cal Poly. Four additional offensive linemen arrived through the transfer portal to provide much-needed depth. Although the group showed improvement during the spring, Alabama struggled to consistently generate movement in the run game during its final scrimmage in April.
“That lack of continuity,” DeBoer said. “You try to make a positive out of it, but in the end, there’s got to be some type of jelling of those guys up front to where one guy makes a call, and it just gets relayed all the way down from one guy to another, from the center on out. Not just to the tackles but to the tight ends and the running backs are all on the same page, and they can envision what this play is going to look like and how the blocking scheme is going to match the front before it even happens.”
Early tests
Alabama opens the season against East Carolina on Sept. 5 before traveling to Kentucky for its SEC opener. The Crimson Tide then host Florida State before welcoming South Carolina. Kentucky and South Carolina both feature talented defensive fronts, while Florida State boasts one of the nation’s most disruptive defensive lines led by Mandrell and Darryll Desir.
Establishing control at the line of scrimmage during the opening month will help the Tide ease in a first-year starting quarterback in short-yardage situations.
Alabama doesn’t need one player to carry the offense this season, but the message should become clear early about the identity the Crimson Tide want to establish. More creativity will help, but the mandate is simple: run with purpose, finish drives and reclaim the intimidation factor that once defined Alabama football.
