Just because Alabama being 2-0 is hardly a surprise, even for the most ardent Kalen DeBoer doubters, doesn’t mean there haven’t been a plethora of surprises sprinkled among the Crimson Tide roster over the first 2 weeks of the 2026 season.
An easy home victory over East Carolina in Week 1 coupled with a road victory over Kentucky in Week 2 that became easy after a dominant 2nd half have produced a Tide honor roll of sorts that shine a light on those early season surprises.
Whether it’s a player who has unexpectedly sprung out of the gate this fall, a player’s special quality or a unit’s dominance in one part of the game, these Alabama early September surprises have helped the Tide enter the highly anticipated rematch with Florida State with a perfect record and a perfect chance to get to 3-0.
We’re going to call out 5 of those surprises through Week 2, as Bama gets set for a shot at payback against the visiting Noles in Week 3:
1. The immediate emergence of inside linebacker Luke Metz
At this point, after just 2 games, it’s hard to remember that Metz had to win the other starting inside linebacker job during fall camp. Metz did exactly that, and he’s rewarded Kane Wommack and the rest of the defensive coaching staff with some shockingly good play so early in that first season as a starter.
Right now, Metz’s rise has been that meteoric. He was fine in Week 1 against East Carolina, posting 2 tackles, 1 of them solo, in a game that was pretty much over at halftime. Then came Week 2 and that monster comeback at Kentucky, when Metz took off, registering 8 total tackles, 3 of them solo. He finished 2nd on the team in tackles in Lexington, trailing only fellow inside linebacker Caleb Woodson, who had 12.
But Metz didn’t just tackle against the Wildcats. The sophomore showed his true playmaking ability with a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown that turned out to be Alabama’s only points in the 1st quarter. With the Tide only managing 2 field goals in the 2nd quarter, it’s hard to imagine where Bama would’ve been at halftime without Metz’s pick-6. The Tide only trailed 17-13 at halftime thanks to Metz’s heroics.
For Metz to pull off a play like that in only his 2nd start is pretty noteworthy. Alabama was already trailing 7-0 during a 1st half it sleepwalked through, and Metz’s play gave the Tide some life midway through the 1st quarter. Nobody could’ve guessed going into this season that Metz, of all people, would score Bama’s only touchdown of the first half in its SEC opener, but that’s exactly what happened in Lexington.
Metz was rewarded for his stellar Saturday on Monday, when he was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week along with his teammate, Woodson. If this is the Metz that Alabama is getting in Week 2, imagine what he might offer in Week 7 or 8, let alone next season. Remember, Woodson was supposed to be the known quantity among Bama inside linebackers in 2026, with the other starting spot severely in question.
Through just 2 games, Metz has answered that question emphatically, with more likely in store.
2. Keelon Russell’s ability to respond after making mistakes
We saw a little of this even in the Week 1 blowout of East Carolina. After a strong 1st half in his very first start as a college quarterback, there were some struggles in the 3rd quarter, with Russell losing a fumble and Alabama being shut out for the entire period after punting twice following the fumble.
But Russell answered those struggles with a strong finish in the 4th, leading a 9-play touchdown drive and a 12-play march that ended with a field goal before giving way to Austin Mack for the final possession. It was a good sign for such a young quarterback in such a high-pressure situation like Russell is, and it was a sign of more resilience to come in Week 2 at Kentucky.
This time, Russell’s woes came at the beginning, when he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on Alabama’s first possession of the game. Russell wasn’t done giving the ball away in that 1st quarter, losing a fumble after driving the Tide into Kentucky territory. It was about as bad a 1st quarter as Russell could have, with 2 turnovers, as he faced his first real adversity in his 1st career road start and 1st career SEC start.
But like in Week 1, Russell didn’t blink. Unlike the East Carolina contest, the game wasn’t basically over when Russell made his mistakes, so this time he had to dig deep so early in the game and move forward. Russell did that in the 2nd quarter, leading 2 long drives that ended with field goals, before he gave the ball away again with another interception that gave Kentucky a short field that it used to kick a field goal.
Russell trudged into the halftime locker room in Lexington with his team trailing 17-13, and basically 10 of the Wildcats’ points were off his mistakes. Again, Russell had to shake off his errors and go play the 2nd half. After a 3-and-out to start the half, he cleaned things up and Bama got rolling, getting a field goal before scoring touchdowns on the next 4 possessions to run away with the 45-17 victory.
This was the best show of overcoming adversity that Alabama’s coaches and fans could’ve hoped for. His teammates had to love it, too. Russell was staring disaster in the face in his SEC baptism, with doubters ready to pounce, and all he did was direct the offense to 32 points in the 2nd half while the defense blanked Kentucky. His stat line (16-of-23 for 188 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions) did nothing in telling how beautifully Russell overcame his own mistakes in leading Bama to a big September road victory.
Prediction Markets How many games will Alabama win in 2026? Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi 8+ wins 78% 9+ wins 66% 10+ wins 50% 11+ wins 21% 12 wins 5% Predict3. Conor Talty has been perfect after winning job in fall camp
Just like Keelon Russell had to win his fall camp battle to be the starting quarterback, so did Talty. He was the starting kicker last season, but he had his struggles and heard the boobirds, and Bama brought in Marshall transfer Lorcan Quinn to compete with (and maybe push) Talty for the starting kicker job this fall.
Talty prevailed in camp and, so far at least, he’s thrived. He’s even been perfect, dare we say. Through 2 games, Talty has made all 5 of his field goal attempts, including 2 in that tough 40-to-49-yard range. Talty’s long make is 41 yards, which he’s accomplished twice, so he hasn’t had to deal with any attempt that’s been super far, but no matter. So far, he’s made them all, the 5 field goal attempts to go with a perfect 10-of-10 in extra point duty.
Eventually, Talty will have to stare down an attempt that’s longer than 41 yards, and eventually he’s going to have to make a kick in a close game, or a kick to decide a game. Eventually, he’ll have to respond after a missed attempt, too, because he’s going to miss one sooner or later, right? All of that is bound to happen, and we’ll find out a lot more about Talty’s progression in 2026. But he’s surely been one of the early bright spots for Bama.
4. The defense has been lights out in the second half
We get it. The level of opponents is going to keep rising as Bama gets into the meat of the SEC gauntlet. East Carolina and Kentucky aren’t, say, Texas A&M and LSU. There are much better offenses waiting in line to take on Kane Wommack’s defense and challenge that star-studded secondary.
But, and we keep saying so far, the defense has been stellar in the 2nd half, and the 2nd half is when SEC championship appearances and College Football Playoff berths are decided. In the opener, Bama surrendered a field goal to East Carolina early in the 3rd quarter, and that was it. That measly field goal, it should be mentioned, was set up by a Keelon Russell fumble that gave the Pirates a short field at the Tide 31-yard line, and Bama’s D allowed a mere 14 yards on 6 plays before the field goal.
After the field goal, the Pirates went punt-punt-punt-punt to end the afternoon. Then in Week 2 at Kentucky, Wommack’s crew did even a little better than that, pitching a 2nd-half shutout in Lexington. After the Wildcats took a 17-13 lead into the locker room, Alabama’s D came out and gave UK absolutely nothing on its home field. While the Tide offense was busy scoring 32 points in those final 30 minutes, the defense got busy forcing fumbles, forcing punts and stopping the Cats on downs.
It was another 2nd-half show of force by the Tide D, which could be because of the competition or, just maybe, could be the start of a season-long trend.
5. Daniel Hill has turned offseason weight loss into net gain
Hill’s trimmed-down body was one of the main topics of the offseason, especially during spring ball when it was first on display. But how much of a difference was Hill’s weight loss going to make once the games started? Would it really matter when things really mattered?
Once again, we’re talking about a small sample size being just 2 games in, but so far Hill has looked like a different running back. After managing just 284 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns last season while averaging a meager 3.8 yards per carry, the slimmed-down version of Hill has beefed up his production in 2026, already posting 151 yards on 27 carries.
Hill has also already found the end zone 3 times and, maybe most importantly, he’s averaging a robust 5.6 yards per carry so far, so he’s up almost 2 full yards per carry from last year. That’s quite a jump, and his 104-yard performance with 1 touchdown against Kentucky last week was worthy of excitement after last season’s dormant rushing attack. Ryan Grubb kept feeding Hill in Week 2, 18 times in all, and Hill rewarded that persistence by averaging almost 6 yards per carry.
Yes, the defenses will get a lot better. And the competition for carries will intensify, especially with AK Dear on the way back from injury. But Hill’s early progress can’t be denied, and that’s a beautiful thing for a Bama rushing attack desperate to get off the ground in 2026.
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