5 Alabama players who raised stock in fall camp

4. Daniel Hill – Running Back

Hill was expected to earn some meaningful carries before Jam Miller went down with an upper-body injury in fall camp. With Miller sidelined for the first few games of the season, Hill has an opportunity to earn more carries. Grubb spoke positively about Hill following Miller’s injury.

“I think Daniel is starting to run like the back we saw in the spring,” Grubb said. “Early in camp, I thought he was a little bit slow to come to that.”

The 6-foot-1, 244-pounder is a bigger back with some of the most reliable hands on the Tide’s roster. He is expected to be on the field quite often early in the season.

3. Dijon Lee – Cornerback

Lee had a big spring with Domani Jackson out, and he has not let Jackson retuning to the field slow down his path to get on the field as a true freshman. While he will not be listed as a starter at cornerback, Kane Wommack sees the five-star as a starter.

“To me, with two very experienced corners that we have on this roster, we feel like Dijon can go right in,” Wommack said. “Credit to him and the way he’s playing right now. I see him as a starter in our defense, really impressive.”

The 6-foot-4 freshman defensive back should be fun to watch this fall.

2. James Smith – Defensive Lineman

Smith is probably most Alabama football fans’ choice to have a breakout season if you were to ask them. The former five-star looks to have developed into what he is projected to be coming out Caver High School.

It is now time for him to prove it on the field, and Wommack is excited to see it happen.

“James is doing a nice job,” Wommack said. “He was dinked for a couple of days and has come back nicely, has kind of hit all the markers he needed to hit. We got him back out on the field the other day, and he looked fresh, fresh legs. He is such a havoc-style player. He can create, generate a lot of havoc in the backfield, which is something I am excited about, and how we’re going to utilize him in that role.”

1. Ty Simpson – Quarterback

Simpson takes the reins as Alabama football’s starting quarterback after waiting for an opportunity to start for the Crimson Tide.

The former five-star won the battle because of the way he protected the football in fall camp while making plays from inside and outside of the pocket.

“Ty did a really nice job of taking care of the football, I think number one,” Grubb told reporters when asked why Simpson won Alabama’s quarterback competition. “I think Ty is an incredible playmaker on the move, and I think from there, guys like that, you worry are they going to be able to train themselves to be able to take care of the football and even the room in general. Ty led that charge. Ty didn’t throw any picks last week. He’s thrown one all camp. We’ve thrown like four total this camp.”

Simpson has garnered praise from his coaches and teammates since winning the job. The Tennessee native was recently named a team captain for Alabama.