If you missed it in our roster tracker article, there were three bigger pieces of new yesterday for Alabama’s roster.
First, Parker Brailsford declared for the NFL Draft:
I think Brailsford should be a solid day-2 pick, and any NFL team will be happy to have him. He was a bright spot for Alabama the past two years, especially after many years of rocky center play before he showed up.
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Next, we also got word that LB Qua Russaw entered the transfer portal.
Alabama linebacker Qua Russaw entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. He spent three seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Russaw redshirted his first season at Alabama. Over the last two years, he logged 50 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble. Russaw has played in 22 games.
As a member of the Class of 2023, Russaw was a five-star recruit out of Montgomery (Ala.) Carver, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 4 overall prospect in the state, the No. 3 linebacker in the class and the No. 27 overall prospect in the class.
Qua was a starter for the Tide the last two seasons, but injuries saw him have limited playing time. His backup, Yhonzae Pierre, wound up being much more impactful as a pass rusher, while Russaw struggled to make much hay in the passing game.
Still, I was hoping that Russaw (an excellent tackler) would wind up moving to inside linebacker next season. Now it seems like that may not be the case.
The piece of good news is that the Tide landed a running back from the transfer portal:
Former NC State RB Hollywood Smothers, ACC’s leading rusher, commits to transfer to Alabama
Smothers, who led the ACC with an average of 85.4 yards rushing per game, is ranked as the No. 2 running back and No. 28 overall prospect in the 247Sports Transfer Portal Player Rankings. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder will be a redshirt junior in 2026. Smothers was a former four-star recruit who originally signed with Oklahoma during the 2023 cycle and transferred after one season with the Sooners.
The highly-sought after prospect rushed for 939 yards and six touchdowns (5.9 yards per rush) across 11 games played with the Wolfpack in the 2025 season. His strong year included four total 100+ yard performances, including 140- and 164-yard games against ACC opponents. Smothers also added 37 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown. The 2024 campaign featured 89 carries for 571 yards (6.4 yards per rush) and six touchdowns.
This dude could very well be a star player for Alabama next year. He’s got elite speed and brings a certain juice to the run game that nobody on the 2025 roster had. The Tide’s other portal pickup so far is TE Dalton Ford, who is considered a run blocking specialist. I think Kalen DeBoer knows what problem needs to be fixed first.
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Next, as far as Ty Simpson is concerned, there have been some rumors circulating.
There’s a lot of people already putting Simpson into the transfer portal before it happens, that’s for sure. Is it anything more than speculation at this point? I don’t think so. For what it’s worth, I do think Simpson will wind up going for the NFL. This is an atrocious year for QBs going to the pros, so there’s a very good shot he’d be the #2 or #3 QB in the class by default.
And, well, this latest report from the weekend from the Tuscaloosa News definitely points toward those in Simpson’s camp working to rehab his sliding image over the last month.
Simpson navigated lower back issue since a third-quarter hit by South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart in Alabama’s 29-22 win against the Gamecocks Saturday, Oct. 25, a source close to Simpson told The Tuscaloosa News. Simpson has been seen on multiple game broadcasts sitting on the bench with trainers, getting treatment on his lower back.
Simpson’s lower back problems continued in Alabama’s regular-season home loss to Oklahoma when the Sooners recorded four sacks and three quarterback hits.
Ahead of Alabama’s Iron Bowl win against Auburn, Simpson was diagnosed with gastritis after taking inflammatory medication to help with his lower back, which caused him to lose seven to eight pounds.
In the Crimson Tide’s SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia, Simpson had elbow bursitis, causing him to wear a sleeve on his right arm in CFP games against Oklahoma and Indiana.
Simpson’s fractured rib against Indiana ended a season where the Crimson Tide quarterback led the SEC in completions (305) and pass attempts (473). He had 3,567 passing yards, 30 total touchdowns and five interceptions.
Many Alabama podcasts and other circles have all pointed to that hit from Dylan Stewart against USC being the turning point when Simpson went from being a Heisman contender to whatever he was to end the season. Simpson repeatedly tried to get out of answering anything about an injury – and this report seems to confirm what we all thought.
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A back injury, followed by messing up his stomach with anti-inflammatories, followed by an elbow injury, and ending with a busted rib. The dude really went through it ever since October.
Drew from Kansas City writes: The ending to the season was disappointing given how the team bounced back after Florida State and went on a long winning streak against tough competition. However, the program did make progress compared to last year by making it to Atlanta and winning a playoff game. Tide fans have to continue giving DeBoer time to build his program and a roster that fits his offensive philosophy. Next year’s success will be critical for the DeBoer era.
Hey Drew: Between graduations and portal activity, DeBoer’s 2026 roster will include very few Saban signees. That means players not fitting the system will be gone as an excuse. That’ll be especially true on the offensive line, which should be the coaching staff’s top priority for improvement. In DeBoer’s first two years, a few Saban-signed O-linemen were somewhat misfit for the system. That won’t be the case going forward, as every 2026 offensive lineman of any consequence will be a DeBoer signee.
Chase Goodbread brings up a good point here. With how fast rosters are turning over these days, next year’s team will have very few holdovers from the Saban program. Defensive lineman James Smith and safety Bray Hubbard will pretty much be it for the main starters, assuming Ty Simpson doesn’t come back. Plus a couple of other depth guys. But for the most part, next year will be fully a team recruited and rostered by DeBoer. As such, the makeup and identity of that team will be the biggest reflection on his coaching to date.
Let’s hope it goes well.
Roll Tide!
