- Alabama boasts an elite secondary: The Crimson Tide enter 2026 with PFF’s No. 2 secondary after ranking sixth nationally in PFF team coverage grade last season.
- The run game is the biggest concern: Alabama ranked outside the top 100 in the FBS in run rate, yards per carry and explosive run rate in 2025.
- Quarterback competition remains in focus: Keelon Russell and Austin Mack are battling for the starting job, with Russell appearing to have the upper hand coming out of spring practices.
After a disappointing debut season for Kalen DeBoer in 2024, Alabama bounced back last year, finishing 11-4 and reaching the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Still, DeBoer’s first two seasons in Tuscaloosa represent the Crimson Tide’s worst two-year stretch since 2006-07, which encompassed the final season before Nick Saban’s arrival and his first year as head coach.
Even so, DeBoer was rewarded with a seven-year extension this offseason that made him one of the five highest-paid coaches in the country. Alabama now enters a fascinating 2026 season with plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball.
Notable Transfer Portal Additions
- DT Devan Thompkins (USC)
- WR Noah Rogers (NC State)
- LB Caleb Woodson (Virginia Tech)
- C Racin Delgatty (Cal Poly)
- OT Jayvin James (Mississippi State)
Notable Transfer Portal Losses
- OT Wilkin Formby (Texas A&M)
- ED Qua Russaw (Ohio State)
- DT James Smith (Ohio State)
- WR Isaiah Horton (Texas A&M)
- ED Keon Keeley (Notre Dame)
Biggest strength: Arguably the best secondary in America
Alabama enters 2026 with our No. 2 secondary in college football, and the Crimson Tide have a strong case for the top spot. They return four of five starters from a unit that ranked sixth nationally in PFF team coverage grade last season.
Three of those returning starters rank inside the top 10 at their respective positions in cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. and safeties Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb. Fellow cornerback Zabien Brown is also a projected first-round pick.
Biggest question mark: Can they run the ball?
It became clear late last season that Alabama was struggling badly to run the football. The Crimson Tide ranked outside the top 100 in the FBS in run rate, yards per carry and explosive run rate.
Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley and AK Dear return in the backfield, but none rushed for at least 300 yards last season. Alabama will also replace six of the seven offensive linemen who played at least 300 snaps in 2025. A more athletic starting quarterback in either Austin Mack or Keelon Russell could help, but the Crimson Tide need significant improvement in the run game as a whole to make another College Football Playoff run.
Quarterback: Keelon Russell
Alabama is embroiled in perhaps the nation’s hottest quarterback battle between Kalen DeBoer favorite Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell. Mack is entering his fourth year in DeBoer’s system but has just 43 career dropbacks to his name.
Russell was the No. 2 player in the 2025 recruiting class and appeared to have the upper hand in the competition coming out of spring practices. The battle could continue through the end of the preseason.
Offensive Player Spotlight: WR Ryan Coleman-Williams
Coleman-Williams ranked No. 2 on our wide receiver list entering last season but falls to No. 6 after a nightmarish sophomore campaign. He dropped 16.9% of his targets in 2025, the seventh-highest rate among Power Four receivers.
Still, his 1,554 receiving yards over the past two seasons rank second only to Smith among returning Power Four wide receivers. His 728 yards after the catch over that span rank third in the group, trailing only Smith and Makai Lemon. The talent remains, but Coleman-Williams will need a major bounce-back junior season.
Defensive Player Spotlight: S Bray Hubbard
Hubbard leads an elite Alabama secondary and is the highest-graded returning safety in the country since the start of 2024. He stuffed the stat sheet last season with 90 tackles, 30 defensive stops, four interceptions, four pass breakups and 11 pressures, including two sacks.
His ability to play near the line of scrimmage and function as an extra linebacker also makes him an extremely valuable piece of Alabama’s run defense. Hubbard enters 2026 as one of the best all-around players in college football.
Bottom Line
While Alabama enters every season with College Football Playoff expectations, the Crimson Tide are more difficult to project in 2026 because of how heavily they will rely on inexperienced players.
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