Alabama kick-started its 2026 season with a methodical 48-10 victory over East Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and there were many players who led the way for the Crimson Tide.
On Monday morning, Alabama honored those performers as its Players of the Week for Week 1 who helped Year 3 of the Kalen DeBoer era start off with a bang.
Leading the list, not surprisingly, was quarterback Keelon Russell, who won the starting job in fall camp and showed exactly why with a standout performance to unofficially introduce himself to the home fans. Russell was named the top skill position player on offense after going 18 of 30 for 256 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass, but he didn’t particularly have to, and Russell didn’t throw an interception, so he kept things clean in his first game.
Russell was dominant with his legs, leading the 13th-ranked Crimson Tide with 86 yards rushing on 13 carries with 1 touchdown. Helping Russell compile those yards through the air and on the ground was center Racin Delgatty, who was making a debut of his own as the starting center for the Tide after transferring from Cal Poly.
Delgatty was named the offense’s top power player of the week after anchoring a revamped offensive line and doing it with strength, as Bama rolled up 227 yards rushing and 5 rushing touchdowns.
The defense was also solid on Saturday, holding East Carolina to just 162 total yards and 5 first downs. Leading the way in that effort was inside linebacker Caleb Woodson, who was also making his debut for Alabama after transferring from Virginia Tech. Woodson was named the defense’s skill player of the week after posting 1 solo tackle.
While Woodson showed out in his debut, a familiar face to Tide fans did the same, with linebacker Yhonzae Pierre being named the defense’s power player of the week after registering 3 total tackles, 1 of them solo, along with 1 sack and 1 tackle-for-loss.
Pierre also showed off his playmaking ability with a 27-yard interception returned for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter that helped Bama stretch its lead to 31-7.
On special teams, Zay Mincey was recognized for his superb efforts in the complete victory, being named the top player on that all-important unit.
The stars of Week 1 helped Alabama get off to a great start, but the Crimson Tide will need more from more players to maximize their win total for the season. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Bama’s potential victory total for the 2026 season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
