Daniel Hill wants to look like a different running back this fall for Alabama football.
Hill is a junior running back for the Crimson Tide, and he is coming off a sophomore season where he showed some promise. He rushed for 284 yards and six touchdowns on 75 carries last season as his role continued to get bigger as the 2025 football season progressed.
The Mississippi product was listed at 6-foot-1 and 244 pounds last season. He dropped some weight and appears to have rebuilt his frame over the offseason after being listed at 6-foot-1 and 236 pounds during the spring. This change, along with his unique skill set, has Hill in a position to take another step forward, according to former Auburn running back and well-respected trainer Brad Lester.
“I mean, obviously, if you look at him from a physical perspective, I mean, he looks like he has all the tools, all the intangibles: speed, power, the mindset of what Bama usually wants from their running backs,” Lester said. “I feel like Daniel has all of those things. The biggest thing that he did want to work on is his one-on-one moves, open-field moves, a little bit of change of direction. But I mean, here after the first few sessions. I mean, he’s looked sharper and sharper each time he’s worked on something. He’s like a sponge. He learns fast, hard worker. Then a lot of it, and this is the thing I always tell people, a lot of it goes to the credit of his running back coach and the development of what Coach G (Robert Gillespie) does with these guys on a year-round basis. So when it comes to me, it’s just a couple things that we sharpen up, that I see as well and that he wants to bring, add to his game. Alabama’s staff does a great job with them. I am just here to help add to his game and help him get better. I see him as a guy. I mean, look at how it looks. There is no reason he shouldn’t be getting five to six yards a carry as he starts to wear on defenses and get in one-on-one situations. He wants to try to take advantage of windows in one-on-one situations and turn them into points.”
Lester has trained many notable running backs, including Quinshon Judkins and Najee Harris. He told Touchdown Alabama he feels the changes Hill has made have put him in a great position to have a great season this fall.
“I think just the mindset, the mental, and just cleaning up his diet. Just with any human, you clean up your diet, you train the way he’s training, and at a program like Alabama, I mean, success is at the highest level,” Lester said. “I feel like he’s bought in, and he’s done those things. He’s not a freshman. He has experience. He’s been on the road playing games. I just feel like now is his time, and I feel like he will be very dominant in the SEC. I can see him being one of the top three guys in the SEC this year, just depending on how the 1st several weeks of the season go. Really good kid, a great hard worker, and I think he’s going to bring some excitement back to Alabama’s backfield.”
Hill will have an opportunity to be the leader out of the backfield for the Tide this fall.
