College football rosters are like annual turnstiles now with the on switch seemingly always on overdrive.
It’s downright dizzying, and when the dust finally settles on that roster turnover, whenever that turnstile decides to stop, it’s ultimately left to the head coach to relearn all the names and get back to work on winning.
Those rosters get stripped down, torn up and twisted around by multiple factors now. Players leave for the NFL Draft because they’re out of eligibility or out of patience, players leave for the transfer portal in bunches and arrive via that portal in bunches, or sometimes they even do the whole portal dance and decide to return to the program they just left behind.
Or, in the head-spinning case of Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter, they dabble in the draft and the portal before deciding they didn’t want to go anywhere after all. And then, amid all that upheaval and chaos, there are the players who aren’t going anywhere because they never left. Yes, there is still something called “returning players” in today’s college football.
That group provides coaches like Alabama head man Kalen DeBoer with the one year-to-year constant to hang their hat on, to lean on. The draft and especially the portal might get the saucy headlines, but most often it’s those returning players who end up making the difference the next fall, because they’re already entrenched in the program.
DeBoer, like every coach who deals with today’s maddening roster movement, probably wishes in private that he had more players coming back, because they can mean that much. With that, here are 5 of the most crucial returnees for Alabama in 2026 as the roster finally takes shape:
1. Lotzeir Brooks, wide receiver
We could easily just succumb to the obvious here and put Ryan Williams in this spot. But we won’t do that, because everyone from Tuscaloosa to Tacoma knows that Williams turning back into 2024 Williams in 2026 is a huge key to Alabama’s success this fall. So, instead we’ll go with the far less obvious Brooks, who actually became a factor as a true freshman in 2025 with 32 catches for 441 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
This just means the expectations for Brooks the sophomore will be that much higher, and that alone places him on this list because there is so much uncertainty around him right now. Nobody really knows what Williams is going to give the Tide in 2026 because his ceiling — and his floor — have already been seen in such a short amount of time. Germie Bernard, who became Bama’s No. 1 receiver last fall, ran out of eligibility, and Isaiah Horton, who helped make up for Williams’ production dip last fall, ran out of town, is transferring to SEC rival Texas A&M.
Yes, talented transfer Noah Rogers arrives from NC State, and that will surely help the position, but he’s got to establish himself at a new program with a new quarterback. And speaking of quarterbacks, Ty Simpson is gone to the NFL Draft, so Brooks is going to have an adjustment period himself with either Austin Mack or Keelon Russell likely to take over behind center. But the 5-foot-9 Brooks playing big for Bama this fall and staying on that nice upward trajectory he set as a freshman would be huge for a passing attack that suddenly has to reshuffle the deck from last season.
The Tide don’t need another sophomore slump like the discouraging one they just experienced with Williams.
2. Yhonzae Pierre, linebacker
Bama has seemingly featured a stud linebacker in its defensive arsenal for forever, and with Deontae Lawson and Justin Jefferson gone, Pierre could be slated to become The Next Great Alabama Linebacker as a redshirt junior in 2026, He registered 52 total tackles, 39 of them solo, last season, and he became a quarterback hunter with a team-leading 8 sacks. Pierre had 4 more sacks than anyone else on the team, with LT Overton ranking a distant 2nd, and Overton is gone, too, by the way.
In addition to his pass rushing breakout party, Pierre showed he could make plays in other ways, too, forcing 3 fumbles. Lawson led the Tide in tackles last season with 80 and Jefferson was right behind him with 79, so their departures should mean that a player like Pierre is primed to see his tackle totals shoot up this fall. It really should happen, and Alabama needs it to happen, because it needs someone to become that next standout Tide linebacker who has always existed.
The 6-foot-3, 248-pound Pierre is an Alabama native, so his possible development into a star takes on a special dynamic. He was born in Eufaula, Alabama, and starred in high school there, and now he’s poised to become something great in Tuscaloosa after opting to play his college ball near home. Yes, Bama will welcome 5-star stud Xavier Griffin into its linebacker room this year, but he’ll still be a true freshman and who knows how quickly he will develop at the college level.
Meanwhile, Pierre is a known commodity now after last season, and now the Tide need him to become a star this season.
3. Zabien Brown, cornerback
Brown was responsible for one of Alabama’s most memorable plays of the 2025 season. For any Tide fan with a pulse and even a decent memory, they now know Brown for that scintillating 99-yard pick-6 on the final play of the first half against Tennessee that electrified Bryant-Denny Stadium and pretty much put things away that night in a 37-20 victory. Signature plays like that made against hated SEC rivals, at home and in primetime, just don’t fade from memory, so Brown established himself last season with that moment alone.
But there was more from the kid from far away Santa Ana, California, who starred at national powerhouse Mater Dei. He again showed a flair for the dramatic in a big spot during Alabama’s first-round Playoff victory at Oklahoma, and once again Brown picked his spot for a pick-6 late in the first half, with halftime momentum up for grabs. Instead, he grabbed another interception and took it back 50 yards this time for a touchdown that tied the game at 17-17 with 1:18 left in the half. It finished off Bama’s rally from an early 17-0 hole, and the Tide never looked back in a 34-24 victory to advance to the quarterfinals.
Two gigantic pick-6 moments, one in the regular season and one in the Playoff, showed what Brown could do as a sophomore. He added 39 tackles in 2025, 26 of them solo, with 1 forced fumble and 5 pass deflections. Now, after all of that, can the cornerback come back and do it again this fall as a junior? It would kind of be a letdown if he didn’t, honestly, because Brown has now set a big-play standard that demanding Tide fans are going to hold him to next season.
Domani Jackson and Da’Shawn Jones are gone. It’s time for Brown to continue his ascent, and a few more riveting pick-6s wouldn’t hurt either in 2026.
4. Daniel Hill, running back
We could have picked fellow running back returnees Kevin Riley or AK Dear instead of Hill. But we’ll go with Hill only because he edged out the other 2 with his 284 yards rushing in 2025. It was a modest total, but amid Alabama’s anemic rushing attack last fall, it also managed to rank 2nd behind Jam Miller’s team-leading 504 yards. Hill only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, which sadly was a little better than Bama’s 3.4-yard team average. That’s how troubling the run game was for the Tide last fall.
But Hill did do something very well as a redshirt freshman, something Alabama hopes he can replicate as a redshirt sophomore in 2026. And that’s a knack for getting in the end zone. Hill did that 6 times on the ground in 2025 and even added a receiving touchdown among his impressive 28 catches for 203 yards out of the backfield. So, there have been flashes of what Hill could become this fall, and the Tide are hoping the Mississippi product can be the running back who emerges with longtime mainstay Miller finally out of eligibility.
Honestly though, Bama just needs somebody, anybody, to emerge in the backfield in 2026 after the nightmare situation that ultimately helped derail the team last season. If it turns out to be Riley or Dear or even 5-star prize recruit EJ Crowell, that’s fine, too. Crowell could be that rare true freshman running back who immediately makes an impact. But Hill is the leader in the clubhouse as the long offseason process begins with uncertainty along the offensive line. The retooling of that unit under a new offensive line coach will obviously heavily impact Hill and the rest of the running back room as the hopeful recovery from last season’s rushing disaster begins.
But Hollywood Smothers isn’t rushing through that door in 2026, as he briefly looked to be before flipping his transfer commitment to rival Texas. Just maybe, Hill can make everybody forget about Smothers — and last season.
5. Bray Hubbard, safety
Bama might not have even had a chance to sneak into the College Football Playoff if not for Hubbard. Why? Because it was the star safety who forced that fumble by then-Auburn star wideout Cam Coleman with under a minute to play in the Iron Bowl thriller. The Tide recovered the fumble, escaped the Plains with a 27-20 victory and made the Playoff even after getting throttled by Georgia in the SEC title game. Hubbard added a third-quarter interception against Auburn, one of his 4 picks during a stellar junior season.
Now, what about Hubbard’s senior season? His value this fall might increase by a whole lot, which is scary to say. Hubbard is Alabama’s top returning tackler after finishing with 74 total tackles, 47 of them solo, in 2025. He added 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 8 pass deflections last season, and he’ll help form arguably the best safety duo in the country this fall with fellow returnee Keon Sabb, who’ll be a redshirt senior. It’ll truly be an embarrassment of riches on the back end for Bama.
Sabb is terrific, too, but Hubbard represents the Crimson Tide’s biggest strength at a position of strength. With uncertainty at other positions like running back, offensive line, even quarterback, among others, Alabama will need its returning star safety duo to shine again and maybe help cover up a little bit for those other deficient areas. You just don’t get the luxury these days in college football of having 1 standout senior safety, let alone 2.
Bama will need to cash in on having Hubbard back there again to make those big plays in the very biggest moments.
5 returning players who are crucial toward Alabama’s success in 2026 Saturday Down South.
Hence then, the article about 5 returning players who are crucial toward alabama s success in 2026 was published today ( ) and is available on SATURDAY DOWN SOUTH ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 5 returning players who are crucial toward Alabama’s success in 2026 )
Also on site :