ICYMI: Alabama signed an additional recruit on Thursday. From Andrew Bone (paywall):
“Traeshawn Brown (sic), a running back from Huntsville HS (Texas), was expected to sign with Boise State on Wednesday. That changed when Alabama offered on Tuesday. The staff always prepares contingency options if unexpected flips occur or if they choose to move on from one of its commits/targets.“
“Coach Johnson told BOL Brown is between 5-9.5 and 5-10, weighs 195 pounds, and has clocked verified 4.35 and 4.39 40-yard
dash times.”
3-star RB Javari Barnett ended up not being in this Tide 2026 class due to NIL and/or academic concerns. Because of that, the Bama staff thought they needed a replacement and had the room with only 20 signings. With the vast majority of top players signed, they saw who was left and this Texas back caught their eye.
Trae’shawn Brown did not go to too many camps which makes him a bit of an unknown in the crootin experts circles. He was so unknown that he did not even have proper profiles on 247sports, ESPN, or On3. While the latter two have not worked up an analysis yet, 247 now has him as a 3-star and the 44th best running back in the nation – 42 spots behind Ezavier Crowell 😉.
After middling sophomore and junior campaigns, Brown really blew up as a senior, rushing for 1,362 yards on 165 carries, which is an average of 8.3 yards per carry, and 17 touchdowns. Tim Watts of On3 noted that Brown had a 11’4” broad jump at a summer camp, which if true would have qualified as second in this past April’s NFL Draft Combine.
With all the injuries that the Tide has had at running back in recent years, it is probably a good move to add a project/depth guy. I doubt he’ll turn into Josh Jacobs or anything but we’ll see.
