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5 Alabama freshmen to know before fall camps starts

Photo via Alabama Athletics

Alabama football’s freshmen will look to make a name for themselves in fall camp in hopes that their efforts will make it impossible to keep them off the field during the 2026 college football season.

While Kalen DeBoer feels the Tide will not have to lean on freshmen as much this fall, there is still a chance multiple first-year players play meaningful roles for Alabama during the upcoming college football season. Here is a look at five Alabama freshmen to pay close attention to this fall:

Cederian Morgan

Morgan is a former elite wide receiver prospect who has appeared to turn heads since arriving in Tuscaloosa for Rose Bowl prep in December. With Noah Rogers expected to miss some games early in the season, the door looks to be wide open for Morgan to earn a spot in the Crimson Tide’s wideout rotation. The 6-foot-4 wide receiver is considered to be a big-body wide receiver with a wide catch radius and dependable hands.

Zabien Brown, a cornerback for the Tide, said Morgan does not drop the ball at SEC Media Days. Bray Hubbard was also just as complimentary of Morgan.

“Cederian is a big receiver,” Hubbard told reporters at SEC Media Days. “He’s also put on a lot of muscle mass. He’s a strong receiver too. But I mean, you throw, throw anything his way, he’s going to catch it. He’s got really, really good hands. So yeah, I’m excited for him. I think he’s going to have a huge role in our offense. Obviously, I’m not on that side, so I can’t speak too much about it, but I go against him a good bit. So, he’s a great player, and I remember him in bowl prep when he early enrolled, and he came with us for bowl prep; I mean, dude was catching some stuff, and I was like, man, this kid’s going to be a great player.”

EJ Crowell

Crowell is a former five-star running back, and he is looking to be able to show why he was such a highly sought-after prospect in fall camp after missing most of spring practice with a soft-tissue injury. The Crimson Tide’s running back room is tasked with delivering a better product than the one Alabama’s rushing attack put on display last season. If Crowell is as good as advertised during fall camp, it may be hard to keep him on the sideline.

At Jackson High School, Crowell was considered to be one of the best all-around backs in the country. He was explosive out of the backfield, was a dependable pass catcher and ran the ball with great balance.

Jireh Edwards

Edwards checked a long list of boxes as a prospect. His versatility at St. Frances Academy showed he had the potential to play almost every position within the Tide’s secondary in the future. He spent time at safety behind Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard during the spring. This looks to have been by design, considering he was moved around similar to the way Hubbard is during the Tide’s spring game, A-Day. He even spent some time lining up inside of the box. While it may be difficult for Edwards to start, he still may earn some meaningful snaps in certain packages.

Xavier Griffin

Griffin was a prototype for the new age-linebacker as a prospect. He was a long and athletic defender who could effectively play in space as an off-the-ball linebacker and make plays while rushing from the edge. His ability to get after the quarterback while rushing from the edge may be the way he gets on the field early during the 2026 college football season. It would be no surprise if he plays on a package designed to get after the quarterback in obvious passing situations.

Nolan Wilson

Wilson enrolled at the University of Alabama during the summer. The former four-star defensive lineman was considered to be one of the best defensive lineman prospects in the 2026 recruiting class.

At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Wilson is expected to play the bandit/wolf role the Tide appears to be blending together more and more this season under Kane Wommack. Similar to Edwards and Griffin, Wilson could find his way onto the field for Alabama this season as a rotational piece along Alabama’s front seven.

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