Power ranking the 10 best players on Alabama’s roster entering the summer
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To win double-digit games, to win an SEC title, to bring home a national championship, you need an army of talent, from the top end of your roster right down to the special teamers and everybody in between.
The legendary Nick Saban won his first of 6 national championships at Alabama in his third season, and if Kalen DeBoer is going to even approach doing the same, he’ll need to lean on every single player in crimson and white from September through January. That’s just the cold reality, which is why year-to-year roster depth is the golden ticket to long-term success in college football.
But to be knocking at the national championship door in December, it’s also true that rosters need their stars to be present and shining. Alabama has been spoiled with star power for decades and decades, and 2026 will be no different when the Crimson Tide kick off the season against East Carolina on Sept. 5.
What does Tuscaloosa’s latest best of the best list look like? Who are those Crimson Tide stars being counted on to shine the brightest as Alabama chases that first post-Saban title? There is a healthy amount of that top-end talent, like always, but 10 players made the cut for being a cut above the rest.
Alabama’s elite 10 are all on the same team, fighting for the same thing, but we’re going to stack them against one another here as we rate them from 1 to 10 in a power-packed Bama player power ranking. We’ll go in inverse order, from the 10th-rated player on the team to the very best one. The fall will ultimately tell the tale, but here is the Alabama power ranking going into the summer:
10. Jackson Lloyd, LT
Lloyd didn’t lock down the all-important starting left tackle spot a month before the regular season began. Nope. The redshirt freshman and 4-star California product who was one of the top offensive line prospects in the Class of 2025 was labeled as the starting left tackle in 2026 a full month before the A-Day Spring Game. That’s when offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, when asked by reporters how close the left tackle position battle was behind Lloyd, simply said: “It’s not. He’s the guy.”
Winning the right to replace the great Kadyn Proctor as Alabama’s left tackle is no small feat, and when you win that right long before even the spring game, as a redshirt freshman, well, your potential must be through the roof. Lloyd sneaks onto this list on that grand potential alone. His responsibility of protecting the blindside of Bama’s new starting quarterback will immediately demand his worthiness on this list, too.
9. Daniel Hill, RB
Hill is hell-bent on becoming The Guy this fall who will take Alabama’s running attack back to where it’s used to being. He doesn’t have to be 2015 Derrick Henry dominant. But Hill must represent a much better running game than the feeble ground attack that the Crimson Tide featured in 2025, the one that eventually caught up to Bama as it crumbled in the College Football Playoff against Indiana.
The junior-to-be from Mississippi has plenty of competition to become RB1, from returners like Kevin Riley and AK Dear and from newcomers like the much-heralded EJ Crowell. But if Hill earns the starting job, then he’ll no doubt have the opportunity to shatter his 2025 numbers — 284 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns to go with 28 catches for 203 yards. If Hill can back up the lofty spot on this list, then Alabama might just be able to outrun its running game nightmare from last season.
8. Michael Carroll, RG
He’s only a sophomore yet Carroll is the only returning starter on Alabama’s offensive line, which tells you something. Yes, the Crimson Tide O-line now coached by Adrian Klemm is in serious flux, and that flux includes Carroll himself. The Florida product played in 14 games last season as a true freshman, starting 6 times, and most of those snaps came with Carroll at right tackle. But there he was at right guard for most of the spring, capped off with a start at right guard in the A-Day Game.
The trust in Carroll to play that much as a true freshman, even if it came from Bama’s previous O-line coach, speaks volumes, and so does Klemm’s trust that Carroll can potentially move inside to guard and have an even bigger impact. Carroll will likely be showing off his versatility this fall, no matter how it all shakes out, and he’ll also be counted on to be a leader of sorts as that lone returning starter on the offensive line, even as a sophomore. The stage is set for Carroll’s leap into stardom in 2026.
7. Caleb Woodson, LB
The Tide lured Woodson to Tuscaloosa not to be a solid role player on Kane Wommack’s defense but to be a standout. With both starting inside linebacker positions being vacated by NFL-bound talents Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson and Nikhai Hill-Green, there’s a lot of pressure on Woodson to prove his numbers at Virginia Tech can translate to the SEC. Those 151 combined tackles during 3 seasons in Blacksburg were nice and all, but now he’s stepping up in competition, he’s being counted on to help replace all that lost production, and he’s already being tabbed as a potential difference-maker for an Alabama defense, which is a compliment in itself.
Kalen DeBoer was raving about Woodson’s play and leadership qualities during the spring. By December, he just might be counting on Woodson to help lead a deep Playoff run.
6. Zabien Brown, CB
Alabama could very well have the best secondary in the country, headlined by its pair of star safeties. But what about its cornerbacks? And what about Brown? Everyone always talks about those scintillating interceptions returned for touchdowns against Tennessee and Oklahoma, and they absolutely should because those were big-time plays in big-time settings. Brown is an absolute playmaker, and that playmaking ability should only be ratcheted up this fall with Brown being a year older.
But Brown can also make the basic play. He had 39 tackles last season and a whopping 26 of them were solo tackles. Brown was a budding star as a sophomore. He has all the tools to be a certifiable star as a junior.
5. Keelon Russell, QB
This one obviously comes with a caveat, because as we enter the summer Russell hasn’t even locked down the starting job — yet. But he shined during the A-Day Game and, of course, he outshined Austin Mack. Yes, Kalen DeBoer did reveal to reporters after the scrimmage that Mack was “dinged up,” and Mack will get every opportunity during fall camp to reverse the current narrative that Russell took the lead with that spring game performance.
But Russell gets the nod here because of what he did this past spring and what he’s capable of this fall. Ryan Coleman-Williams, the star receiver whose words carry a lot of weight within this QB race, said of Russell after the A-Day Game: “It feels like you’re playing a video game when (Russell’s) in.” If Russell does outlast Mack, fans won’t need a joystick to watch. It’ll all be very real.
4. Keon Sabb, S
He could’ve gone straight to the NFL Draft after last season, with a national title at Michigan in 2023 to show for his college career and possible millions awaiting him. But instead, Sabb chose to return to T-Town, reuniting with fellow safety Bray Hubbard to form arguably the best back-end tandem in college football. Sabb won’t just bring his immense talent back for one last go-around. He’s coming back to campus purely motivated to add another ring to the one he helped Michigan win — the one Nick Saban was narrowly denied in his final season at Alabama.
Sabb took a chance on Alabama right after Saban retired. He took a chance on Kalen DeBoer. Now, he’s betting on Bama one more time as a star centerpiece in a stacked secondary.
3. Yhonzae Pierre, LB
In mid-January, not even 2 weeks after Bama’s 2025 season ended, Pierre announced that Deontae Lawson was passing down his No. 0 to him, a clear sign of just how much Lawson believes in Pierre to be the next impact linebacker at Alabama. Pierre is primed to become one of the top defensive players in the SEC and maybe the country at Bama’s illustrious Wolf linebacker position. Last season’s 8 sacks, 52 tackles (39 solo) and 3 forced fumbles seem like a warmup act to what Pierre could do this fall.
Lawson has passed the baton to Pierre. Now it’s Pierre’s turn to run with it, so opposing quarterbacks beware of this Wolf.
2. Ryan Coleman-Williams, WR
The sophomore slump saga has been rehashed a million times. The one true way to make it all go away is for the 19-year-old junior to be what he was as a 17-year-old freshman phenom. Or even better than that, showing how much he learned from last season’s shortcomings — the dropped passes, the lack of targets from Ty Simpson and not even being the best receiver on the team.
He’s got a new name, a new number and a renewed purpose, and if Coleman-Williams turns all of it into gold, then he leaps right back into college football superstardom.
1. Bray Hubbard, S
Hubbard is Bama’s backbone, in every way possible. He forms the last line of defense with fellow star Keon Sabb, arguably the best safety combo in college football, and he’s the ultimate clutch playmaker — just ask Auburn fans from last season’s Iron Bowl. His 74 tackles (47 solo) in 2025 make Hubbard the top returning tackler in Tuscaloosa, and when you throw in his 4 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles and 2 sacks, it’s apparent just how much Hubbard is the total package.
He was a first-team All-SEC selection last season. Just imagine what could be in store after another offseason of work. Hubbard might just be the best safety in college football, and right now at least he’s the very best of Bama’s best.
Honorable mentions
Just because you’re not in some top 10 player power ranking doesn’t mean you can’t be a standout player, especially at Alabama. Here are 11 players who didn’t quite make this top 10 but who deserve a shout out for being potential stars this fall: Lotzeir Brooks, WR; Dijon Lee Jr., CB; Austin Mack, QB; EJ Crowell, RB; Racin Delgatty, C; London Simmons, DL; Edric Hill, DL; QB Reese, LB; Kaleb Edwards, TE; Jah-Marien Latham, DL; Devan Thompkins, DL.
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.
