Alabama freshman running back impresses legendary Tide back

Alabama football freshman running back and former five-star running back EJ Crowell impressed Trent Richardson in his first outing. Richardson, who rushed for 3,130 yards as a running back for the Crimson Tide, feels the future is bright for the Crimson Tide freshman. 'EJ was creative on, on some of his plays,' Richardson said on 'The Dynasty' podcast. 'And the play on the goal line that he had, man, it shows me this kid's vision. And he got a bounce to him with some of the other plays that he had made. The kid got a lot of energy. I mean, for him not to be going through the whole spring because of injury, or him not to be going through fall camp like that because of injury, for him to get out there to play and do some dominating in the game, that was big. I don't think people realize how big EJ is.' Crowell rushed for 38 yards and one touchdown against East Carolina on seven carries. Kalen DeBoer highlighted Crowell and fellow freshman Tide back Trae'shawn Brown after the game. 'I think there's going to be a lot of positives that we're going to find in it,' DeBoer said. 'I think there's a physical presence we'll be able to, I'm sure, execute better, and some of it is that there was a lot of stuff we had to prepare for because we didn't know exactly what we'd see. I think we got that dialed in as the first quarter went along, limiting what we had to tell the guys to be ready for. I thought they adapted well. Those guys, they had their moments. You could see EJ on the touchdown get around the edge, break a tackle or two.' Crowell is expected to be pivotal part of the Crimson Tide's rushing attack this season.