EJ Crowell entered Saturday's matchup against East Carolina as a game-time decision, leaving Alabama to wait until the last possible moment on whether its 5-star freshman running back would be available for the season opener.
The timing matters because Alabama came into the 2026 season with only four completely healthy scholarship running backs, a thin margin for a team trying to get through an opener with a banged-up backfield. Crowell had missed spring and fall work with an ankle injury, but he returned to practice this past week, which is why the possibility of him playing became a real question again instead of a long-term worry.
On Monday, Ryan Grubb said Alabama expected Crowell to play and said he had not seen any setbacks. He said Crowell was practicing and moving, and added that the freshman was cutting off with both of his feet and looked really good. Grubb also said the decision would be left to Jeff Allen, who would be in charge of that final call.
That is where the story gets a little more complicated. Alabama wanted the week to point toward a clear return, and Grubb sounded confident enough to say there were no new problems. But Crowell still arrived at Saturday as a game-time decision, which leaves the final check on his ankle to the last stage before kickoff rather than to the optimism of early-week practice.
The uncertainty sits inside a broader injury squeeze for Alabama. AK Dear was hurt during Alabama's first fall camp scrimmage and was expected to miss a few more games, adding to a depth chart that has already been stretched by offseason setbacks. If Crowell is active, Alabama gets one more healthy option at a position where it does not have many to spare. If he is not, the opener begins with the backfield still short on bodies and the questions around availability carrying into the next week.
