The temperature – 95 degrees. The heat index – 116. The humidity – 71%.

It was a hot one with an 11:00 AM kickoff at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, as the Alabama Crimson Tide took on the East Carolina Pirates for a Week 1 battle.

It was the Tide that prevailed, winning 48-10 after a solid performance from redshirt freshman Keelon Russell in his first career start. 

Russell completed 59% of his passes for 249 yards, along with 86 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

There was a lot that happened in this game, so we’re coming in hot with six takeaways from Alabama’s dominating win.

Let’s get the 5,000-pound elephant out of the room.

The run game looked fantastic. And if you’re reading this thinking that “it was only East Carolina,” I’ll point you to the fact that East Carolina was ranked 33rd in rushing yards allowed per game last season.

ECU wasn't expected to be Alabama's toughest opponent this season, but its performance against the run last year made Saturday's rushing display worth watching.

Daniel Hill looked exactly like the running back we were hoping to see. He rushed nine times for 47 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

What I thought was increasingly interesting was Alabama’s trust in true freshman Trae’shawn Brown.

We heard the rumblings at camp that Brown was a star in the making, but I don’t think anyone anticipated him being the second running back on the field.

There was one instance where Brown almost staked his claim onto the game, where he ran for 60+ yards to the house, until it was called back from a holding call from center Racin Delgatty.

We also saw true freshman EJ Crowell get a lot of shine. Crowell was expected to play after suffering a minor injury during camp, but Crowell recorded the first touchdown of the season, and rushed for 37 yards on seven attempts.

Coming into opening day, there were sky-high expectations for Ryan Coleman-Williams.

After a sensational freshman season as a 17-year-old, Coleman-Williams had a greatly disappointing sophomore season.

Coleman-Williams came into the season with a new outlook. He added a new name to honor his mother, changed his number from 2 to 1, and removed gloves from his game day attire.

To start the game, the ghost of his past appeared to follow him after being wide open and dropping a pass from Russell. 

However, to rectify that drop, he answered the call, hauling in five passes for a staggering 130 yards, and finished the first half with 104 receiving yards. It was the second time in his career that he finished the first half with over 100 receiving yards.

To top it off, he also returned a punt for 23 yards in the first quarter.

What stood out was the accountability that Russell took for his play.

While this was a solid performance, he still looked like a first time starter out there. The talent was there, and his ability to extend plays was a breath of fresh air.

But operationally, there was something off, and that’s OK.

There were a handful of pre-snap penalties. Russell fumbled the ball once and then fumbled on a handoff to a Coleman-Williams’ jet sweep.

Even when he scrambled with the ball, he never gave himself up by absorbing tackles.

And Russell acknowledged that it’s still a work in progress.

“I’m going to blame everything that happened operations wise on me,” he said in the press conference after the game.

Quarterbacks never lacked accountability in Tuscaloosa, but it’s encouraging to hear it from someone that is young like Russell to understand that he isn’t a finished product just yet. 

East Carolina averaged 176.7 rushing yards per game last season, so Alabama's performance against the run was particularly impressive.

ECU ended up rolling out a running back room led by TJ Engleman, who was the third stringer last season.

This season, Alabama limited the Pirates rushers, and stuffed them in a locker.

The defense was never the problem in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide have a ton of legitimate playmakers on the defensive end, but the Pirates offense shouldn’t have been overlooked.

In the end, East Carolina only rushed for two yards.

The ultimate standout of the unit was EDGE Yhonzae Pierre, who entered this season with NFL aspirations.

The Eufaula, Alabama, native collected a pick-six, a sack and a tackle for loss, to build on from his successful 2025 season.

In addition, we saw Oregon-transfer Terrance Green and Fatutoa Henry show up with a sack each.

Alabama may have a guy in wide receiver Derek Meadows.

The 6-foot-5 receiver ended the day with the second-most receiving yards on the team, including an impressive 31-yard reception in the first quarter.

There was a lot of speculation on who would be the third receiver behind Coleman-Williams and Lotzier Brooks, and it was a battle between Meadows and Rico Scott.

And while Scott won the battle, head coach Kalen DeBoer suggested that Meadows was going to get his looks. Those looks resulted in three receptions for 44 yards, and he looked the part.

One of the big question marks coming into the season was who fills in at left guard.

It seemed like a never-ending battle between Mal Waldrep and William Sanders, but ultimately, Sanders walked away with the starting job.

But Sanders' time with the first team didn't last long, as Waldrep stepped in during Alabama’s fifth offensive drive, and stayed there.

DeBoer mentioned after the game, “we just want to give [Waldrep] a chance to get out there. I think [Sanders] got through good with the game, just from a physical standpoint. I like the direction we went. There was a couple opportunities where we missed on some explosives and had some guys open where we had a little pressure.”

Waldrep was a camp darling, so the quick rotation is hardly a surprise, but as we head into Week 2, the left guard position will be one to monitor.