Alabama football legend identifies major question Tide has to answer in year 3 under DeBoer

Former Alabama football defender and ESPN SEC Network college football analyst Roman Harper feels one question will be a measuring stick for how good the Crimson Tide will be in 2026.

“How tough are you?” Harper asked when discussing the Tide at his Senior Bowl Hall of Fame induction while talking to media members.

The Tide is coming off a 10-3 season where it made an appearance in the SEC Championship, made the College Football Playoff, won a road playoff game and got 10 players drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft. Alabama’s season ended in the Rose Bowl at the hands of Indiana in a 38-3 defeat.

Harper feels Alabama showed a lack of toughness last season in the Rose Bowl in a critical moment.

“You got to be a tougher team, mentally and physically,” Harper said. “When you check that box, I think Alabama will be what Alabama is supposed to be. You got to be able to run the football. I think the biggest play to me was that Indiana game, 4th & 1, early in that game, instead of them just grinding it out or go get one yard, you run a speed sweep, just not traditional to what we are use to seeing. That has to change. That really starts upfront and physically and mentally as well.”

Alabama football’s rushing attack went cold down the stretch of the 2025 season. No Tide running back who carried the football more than 20 times averaged more than four yards a carry.