While Alabama’s season came to an end in a 38-3 loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl, the Crimson Tide must now look to the future and its impending roster needs for 2026.
As players both join and leave the team via the transfer portal and the early enrollees of the 2026 high school class come to campus, new faces are emerging as pieces on Alabama’s next team, and in particular, the offensive side of the ball.
After managing only 3 points against Indiana’s defense in what was an offensive struggle, the coaching staff must look to make the necessary changes to avoid such a brutal offensive faring next year.
“It just comes down to us being able to execute,” wide receiver Germie Bernard said after the loss. “They just capitalized off all the mistakes we made.”
Bernard is one of four offensive starters who are now out of college eligibility, and with guard Wilkin Formby entering the portal and center Parker Brailsford and Kadyn Proctor declaring for the NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide will be missing several key contributors on offense in 2026.
Eleven offensive linemen won’t be returning to the team this year. While five freshmen linemen will be joining the team, it’s a position that generally isn’t easy for freshmen to break into the rotation.
The staff will have to look to the portal not just for depth along the line, but for starting-caliber players and ones who will help make Alabama’s run-blocking more effective than it was in 2025.
“We gotta stop [first quarter struggles and] waiting to get the running game going,” offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “We got good enough players, the scheme’s there. We just gotta execute earlier in the football game.”
Mississippi State tackle Jimothy Lewis visited Tuscaloosa this week, and Michigan interior lineman Kaden Strayhorn committed to Alabama on Tuesday. Strayhorn could be the first member of a major overhaul of the offensive line following a bevy of departures.
Although likely to replenish receiver talent in the portal, Alabama will also look to its five-star freshman Cederian Morgan to make up for lost production from the wideout room.
Morgan boasts impressive measurables that will stand out in the room, listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds while running 11.19 seconds in the 100 meter dash.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer called Morgan a threat who is a good athlete all around.
“I was kind of blown away that a guy this big is getting up that high,” DeBoer said.
In addition to Morgan and any transfer portal additions, returning pass-catchers like Rico Scott and Derek Meadows may be asked to play bigger roles as more snaps are required of them.
Meanwhile, Alabama’s running game is already being addressed through portal additions.
NC State transfer back Hollywood Smothers committed to Alabama on Monday, immediately becoming the presumed starter at the position in 2026 following the departure of starting tailback Jam Miller.
Smothers was named first-team All-ACC with the Wolfpack in 2025, and his 939 rushing yards on the season were more than Alabama’s two leading backs, Miller and Daniel Hill, combined.
While DeBoer and his staff hope they can get greater contributions from Hill, in addition to younger backs such as AK Dear and EJ Crowell, the addition of Smothers is an attempt to get immediate production in the room in a reconstruction of the offense that struggled mightily to pick up yards on the ground last year.
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