Kalen DeBoer feels 5-Star running back can help Alabama as a freshman

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Kalen DeBoer feels Ezavier Crowell has an opportunity to make an immediate impact in Tuscaloosa after signing with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday.

Crowell is a product of Jackson High School in Alabama, and he is a 2026 five-star recruit. He re-classified from the 2027 recruiting class to the 2027 class, choosing to skip his senior year of high school. The moment he decided to re-classify, DeBoer and his staff knew they had to make him a priority target.

“When he made the change to reclassify, it was immediate for us of what direction we wanted to go,” DeBoer said. “He’s put together just a short career there. He’s good to have another year left, just some unbelievable numbers. But some guys can put up numbers, and it’s who they’re playing and things like that. He makes plays, and he can break tackles in small areas. He can run you over. He’s got the ability to make you miss and then he ends up in the end zone, and so he’s got that finishing speed too. So as a big kid, I’m just really excited how he’s gonna come in, and it’s really kind of amazing when you think that he should have another year. Then we’re even thinking of him as being a guy that can kind of help us just like a lot of these guys as a freshman.”

The five-star already weighs more than 200 pounds and can run a sub-11 100-meter dash with a reported 10.63 PR in the event, just a few milliseconds off Ryan Williams’ high school personal best of 10.55 and Jaylen Mbakwe’s 10.46. So, the moment Crowell steps on campus, he is going to be expected to be one of the fastest players on the Tide’s roster.

Alabama football has snagged one of the nation’s most complete backs in 5-Star Ezavier Crowell @EzavierCrowell.

He checks pretty much every box. Speed, balanced, power and vision. Potential day 1 impact player.https://t.co/bWmQrCLYn8 pic.twitter.com/KZgpsOE39b

— Justin Smith (@Jdsmith31Smith) December 3, 2025