Ryan Grubb tells what Alabama is doing to fix run game

Oct 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Vanderbilt defensive lineman Khordae Sydnor (96) ties up Alabama running back Jam Miller (26) at the line at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Alabama football’s run game has been a topic of conversation in the Crimson Tide’s last two performances.

The Tide’s run game showed some life late in its win against South Carolina, but before the second half of the game, the Tide’s running backs had only picked up 54 yards on 25 carries in their previous six quarters of play.

Changing the fortune of Alabama’s rushing attack was a focus during the Tide’s bye week.

“It’s not one thing,” Grubb said. “It never is, whether it’s pass protection, run blocking, all those things work together. So for us, I think, it’s runners pushing the hole enough, make sure they were pressing the cut long enough. It’s the type of double teams. It’s execution of the double teams. And so certainly, you know, from the previous question, that’s obviously one of the things that we’ve spent a lot of time on; evaluating types of runs, the type of double team, how we’re coaching those things, how we’re talking to the guys, the communication at the line of scrimmage, everything was up for grabs. So for us, I think reassessing some of the things that we do well and that we executed at a high level and that it pretty much suits the runners that we have. So, we’ve really looked at that, and I think the last two practices, have done a really, really good job on that.”

To Grubb, improving Alabama’s rushing attack starts with the Tide’s coaching staff’s mentality.

“I think it’s each room, there’s a message that has to happen, just about getting excited about running the football,” Grubb told reporters. “I think there’s a piece there too for the coaching staff that, can’t be… dog cursing them every time something doesn’t work. It’s got to be like let’s get excited about running the freaking ball, let’s get excited about fixing some of the issues that we clearly are seeing on film and let’s go out there and flex on some people a little bit.”

Alabama is now looking at the LSU game as an opportunity to show it can run the football.

“I think that the guys have kind of taken that mentality going into this game that we can run the ball, and we can be effective doing it not just like a subpar average team,” Grubb said. “We can run it well, and I’m looking for the guys who go out there and prove that.”