Even after missing out on a championship berth after a tough Indiana loss, the spotlight shines brightly on Alabama. Their RB has received the honor of Mr. Football for the first time since wide receiver Ryan Williams earned the award back-to-back in 2022 and 2023.

Jackson High School’s five-star running back Ezavier Crowell earned the 2025 Alabama Mr. Football Award after a dominant season. This prestigious honor is given to the top high school football player in the entire state of Alabama, based on their performance, as given by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

Crowell becomes the first Jackson player to grab this honor. This also becomes a massive milestone for Alabama’s 2026 recruiting class. He earned the Mr. Football honor after producing extraordinary numbers in the 2025 season.

He rushed for 2,632 yards at 12.6 YPC and scored 35 touchdowns while rushing for more than 100 yards in 13 of 14 games. His best game came in the Class 4A State Championship, where he carried the ball 25 times for 308 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-0 win over Anniston.

After the win, Crowell becomes Alabama’s 13th signee to win the Mr. Football award, joining the elite list that has Kristian Story, T.J. Yeldon, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Julio Jones, Andre Smith, Freddie Kitchens, David Palmer, and others dating back to 1995.

But Mr. Football is not the only honor. He added Class 4A Back of the Year, Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, and Rivals First Team All-American honors to his resume, too. Now, you know why he is the No. 2 running back nationally in the 2026 class. Now, the expectations sit on Crowell as he is the highest-ranked prospect in Alabama’s No. 5-ranked recruiting class and No. 2 in the SEC.

Crowell is taking it all seriously. He has already enrolled and started attending classes. He even participated in winter workouts and is now prepping for spring practice. Now, as he comes in to impact Alabama next season, the crowded running back room can be a major issue, especially because Ezavier Crowell has joined Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley, AK Dear, and Traeshawn Brown.

Even with that, Kalen DeBoer is pretty high on him as he praises his skills.

“He can break tackles in small areas,” DeBoer said. “He can run you over; he’s got the ability to make you miss, and then he ends up in the end zone. So he’s got that finishing speed, too. And so, as a big kid, I’m just really excited about how he’s going to come in.”

However, with that positive advancement, Alabama goes through an early challenge ahead of the season.

Alabama’s problems ahead of the 2026 season

With Indiana lifting the 2025 national championship, ESPN has already begun shaping the narrative for the 2026 season. As they released their postseason Top 25 rankings, placing Indiana at No. 1, which was expected, they then put Alabama straight to a disappointing No. 21.

For Kalen DeBoer’s team, it feels like an early setback. ESPN writer Mark Sclabach included eight SEC teams in his preseason Top 25, but six of them were ahead of Alabama. Texas came at No. 2, Georgia at No. 4, Ole Miss at No. 9, Texas A&M at No. 10, Oklahoma at No. 12, LSU at No. 15, and Tennessee at No. 24. Putting LSU ahead of Alabama, which didn’t even reach the playoffs, is a massive hit for the program.

The rankings also show how much respect the team has lost since Nick Saban’s retirement. During his time, Alabama rarely entered a season outside of the top-tier preseason poll. After starting unranked in 2007 and No. 24 in 2008, Alabama started at No. 5 in 2009, which is its lowest under Saban.

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But this shift shows the kind of trust analysts have in Kalen DeBoer. Losses to FSU, Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma have already taken a toll on him in the past two years. It remains to be seen if Alabama overcomes this preseason disrespect or flinches again in adversity.