Alabama was favored by only a field goal for yesterday’s game at Mississippi State, but that looks patently absurd in hindsight. The talent discrepancy on these rosters was easy to spot. College football media, the betting public and even this particular fanbase are still scarred from the first two seasons of the Kalen DeBoer era, when similarly loaded Alabama consistently found ways to make life harder on itself than it needed to be.
Keelon Russell is now the current betting favorite to win the Heisman
according to FanDuel, and what more can you say about him? He looks nothing like a first year starter, and makes several “wow” plays every week. The timing that he has already developed with the receivers on back shoulder stuff is the kind of thing that makes an offense unstoppable, especially if they can also run the football. There is not one thing that a defense can do about this kind of execution.
Keelon continues to make plays from the pocket, outside the pocket, and with his legs. The first five teams on the schedule had no answer for him, but Georgia’s defense will be an entirely different test.
A few other impressions:
Adrian Klemm was the most important signing of the offseason.
The offensive line still has its lapses from time to time, but it’s a night and day difference from what we saw last year. The communication has been much better, and most importantly these dudes can grade. Tyrell Miller was beaten badly on one snap, but in general he looked competent filling in for Jayvin James. The pin and pull concept has become a staple in the offense and has generated multiple explosive run plays in every game so far.
Klemm has also revamped the pass protection, which has been helped tremendously by the ability to run the ball and Russell’s ability to escape. The 2026 Alabama offense is spending far less time behind the chains.
Trae’shawn Brown is taking over the backfield.
EJ Crowell made the highlight reel run yesterday, but Trae’shawn Brown was the bellcow. Perhaps Daniel Hill will get more run in the future, but after he put the ball on the turf a second time yesterday Brown seemed to take over. Watching him run it’s incredible to think that he is a three-star freshman. Some dudes just have vision and instincts that you can’t teach, and Brown is in that category. The offensive line is providing creases and he is finding them, which is beautiful to watch.
Xavier Griffin is a game wrecker.
The five-star freshman linebacker has earned more and more time each week, and this game may well have been his breakout. Griffin led the team in tackles with nine and earned his first sack. This dude is a phenomenal athlete who should become a legitimate sideline to sideline superstar.
Griffin in rotation with Luke Metz and Caleb Woodson is an embarrassment of riches at the position.
We saw the entire range of outcomes for Dijon Lee Jr. in one game.
Poor Dijon. The potential continues to be obvious, but sometimes he just can’t seem to get out of his own way. It was impossible not to feel happy for him when he snagged that pick six early in the game. He let out some pent up emotion with that end zone spike and the hope was that he would go on to have a breakout game of his own. Unfortunately, he then muffed a punt. He did also have a couple of explosive returns and looks like a natural at that spot, so hopefully he will learn from it.
Lee was beat on a touchdown when he was caught looking at the sideline right up until the snap, but that probably wasn’t on him as the playcall was slow to come in. And, you don’t see many corners who can blow dudes up like this.
Lee is probably better suited as a box safety, and perhaps he will end up there at some point. Carmelo O’Neal continues to look like a liability when he comes in, so perhaps depth at the cornerback position is the reason that he hasn’t already been moved. If Jorden Edmonds is able to get healthy, we may well see some experimentation in that regard.
This team still hasn’t played a complete game, and that’s encouraging.
This team makes fewer backbreaking mistakes than its predecessor, but there is still plenty to clean up. Kalen DeBoer lamented the ten penalties, specifically calling out the procedural pre-snap stuff. And, make no mistake, there were still too many coverage busts. Kamario Taylor missed quite a few open receivers, which was uncharacteristic and possibly affected by whatever foot affliction he’s dealing with. There was also the aforementioned muffed punt, which is the kind of mental mistake that can get you beat against better teams.
Unfortunately, due to the full sequence of events, it will get lost in the shuffle that Zabien Brown caused and recovered a fumble immediately after the muff, and the defense rallied together on the sideline afterward to let Lee know they had his back. This team seems to have a special bond that can take them far, and a lot of it seems to stem from belief in the quarterback.
Alabama fans have been looking to this next stretch of games as the make-or-break part of the schedule. Beat Georgia on Saturday and they’ll be in the catbird seat for a trip to Atlanta. Lose and they will obviously still be alive, but margin for error will be thin. The Bulldogs are a more seasoned group who came into the season with the most returning starts in the SEC, but with Russell and some of these freshmen, Alabama’s ceiling may well be higher.
Can the Tide take another step toward reaching that ceiling next week? We shall see.
Roll Tide.
