TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama's tight ends left a lot to be desired in the run block game last season.
It would be unfair to cite the position group as the primary catalyst for the team's inability to establish the run, that being because just about every aspect of the rushing game was dysfunctional, but they certainly did not make life any easier for the Crimson Tide's beleaguered backs.
With less than three weeks to go until Alabama's 2026 opener, the unit appears primed for significant improvement in that department.
"We're just going back to basics, you know, refining just the fundamentals, the footwork, the hand placements, punching, everything like that," sophomore Kaleb Edwards said of the work the team has put in this offseason. "Just simplifying it and making sure we are good at blocking.
Edwards, in many ways, was a figurehead for the unit's issues last season. He opted not to enroll early for the spring 2025 semester, in favor of getting to experience his final months of high school. But starter Josh Cuevas went down with a foot injury, and with Danny Lewis Jr. also struggling with injuries, Edwards ended up starting six games down the stretch for the Crimson Tide.
Edwards showed plenty of flashes for a true freshman, but didn't do much to move the needle as a blocker. But at 6-foot-6, 264 pounds, he has as much potential to impact the run game as anybody not on the offensive line. With the year of physical and mental development under his belt, it appears that much of that potential will be realized this fall.
"I didn't expect to play as much as I did," Edwards said. "Jumping up from high school to college definitely moves quicker. There's a lot more going on, a lot more to think about, but now that I've got that year, I think it's all slowed down a little bit."
Edwards will be the No. 1 target in the tight end room, likely followed by Marshall Pritchett, Lewis, and Jay Lindsey. But the unit's X-factor is Josh Ford, the Oklahoma State transfer who has already drawn Robbie Ouzts comparisons.
"(He brings) physicality and aggression," Edwards said of Ford. "I think he's just a great guy, and then gets on the field, and he's an animal. He's going after people. I think that's very special."
Another key component for the group is that the new tight ends coach, Richard Owens, has spent the last seven years coaching offensive lines (UAB, Georgia Southern, and Louisville). Owens' hire was just one of a number of intentional decisions made to beef up Alabama's protection this year, and it appears to be paying early dividends.
"Our attention to detail has been good," Edwards said. "I think Coach Owens has helped us a lot with that. Just making sure that no matter how good a rep you have, there's always something to fix. And I think that has been one of our brightest spots."
With running back AK Dear out for a significant amount of time, and freshman EJ Crowell's role still undefined as he works to get on the practice field, the state of the running game is already in a less-than-ideal spot, placing even more of an impetus on the tight ends to take strides in their blocking production.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as The Position Group That Could Make Or Break Alabama's Run Game .
