Ryan Grubb creates more concern in opposing Ty Simpson's diagnosis of Alabama's biggest red flag

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The Alabama Crimson Tide is one of the most feared teams in college football entering the last three games of the regular season. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has to worry about Oklahoma and Auburn before a potential SEC Championship Game showdown, and winning in the margins will matter more than ever. His Tide doesn’t have many weaknesses, but the run game is a major red flag as competition ramps up.

As well as quarterback Ty Simpson has played under offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, establishing himself as a Heisman Trophy favorite, the Tide has to kickstart the ground attack. Simpson admitted he had to be “brutally honest” that the team could be much more efficient, and DeBoer has already talked about the woeful aspect of the offense. Now, Grubb is attacking it head-on.

One day after Simpson addressed his lack of a deep ball and Alabama’s run game, Grubb disagreed with the real issue. Here’s what he said.

Ryan Grubb says Alabama has a ‘physical’ problem in the run game

Alabama rushers rank 129th in yards per rush (3.9) and are 134th in first downs per rush this season. That’s unfathomably bad for a Crimson Tide offense that was once the most dominant running team in the nation under head coach Nick Saban. Simpson had initially said this:

“I feel like we’re not very confident that we think we can run the ball very well right now, and it’s all mental, really.”

But Grubb disputed that on Monday, saying, “I don’t think it’s a mental thing. I think there are some physical things that the guys know we have to do a little bit better. I know we have to battle to make those things right. I don’t think it’s a mental issue. I don’t think there was a bunch of missed assignments or some guys getting beat at the point of attack at times. We got to improve that, and we will.”

With Alabama ranking 14th in the conference and 120th nationally in rushing offense, it’s clear something is amiss. Jam Miller has only 321 yards, while Kevin Riley (186) and Daniel Hill (104) are on the same pace. It’s clear last year’s time was solely reliant on quarterback Jalen Milroe to be effective on the ground.

“Yeah, I see it. They’re there,” Grubb said. “A big part is being able to handle movement. And then just having, you know, bent knees, low angles, tight hands and tight feet. Sometimes, I think, right now we play with our feet a little bit long on our second step, all the details we have to be better at. And some of our double teams have lacked coming together. That’s all the things we need to keep working on. The guys know what it is. I believe in them. I know that they are able to get it done. We just got to stick to the process.

“Right now, if we continue to just – what I told the guys is if we’re only focused on the outcome right now, I think that’s part of the problem is there’s too much noise right now, or they’re listening to the narrative of ‘We can’t do this, we can’t do that.’ We need to focus on what we can do. And there’s some things we’re really good at. And it’s not showing up right now, but it will. We got good players that are committed to the process. We’re lucky to have them.”

Things won’t get easier against the SEC’s second-ranked run defense in Oklahoma. The Sooners are allowing only 82.4 rushing yards per game, sitting fourth in the nation.

“I think — not I think, I know that our communication has to be elite,” Grubb said. “That’s the one thing that we probably don’t talk about enough. Characteristic of a good offensive line, physically you want to have that, but the number one thing is communication. When you have problems in the interior gaps and you don’t take care of the interior gaps, whether it’s pass protection or run blocking, those problems happen quick. When we have problems on the inside, that’s when the TFLs and the sacks come from. The quarterback’s eyes will drop from pressure and people being in his face when it’s in between the tackles.

“If stuff happens outside the edge, typically you can deal with that. But interior issues are where all the — you get behind the chains. Whether it’s a 4-yard loss on an inside zone run or it’s a sack from a guy stepping right up the B gap, those where all your problems happen. To me, our guys — we’ve got to have a great week of communicating at the line of scrimmage. That’s the thing I really challenged the guys with.”

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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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