There are any number of ways to judge the performance of Courtney Morgan, the Alabama football general manager responsible for the all-important roles of recruiting coordination, transfer portal oversight, and overall roster management.
Talent level is one. Efficiency of NIL spending is another. And Trae'shawn Brown is a third.
Or at least, his circumstance is.
Last December, Alabama was set to make running back Javari Barnett part of its 2026 signing class. But Barnett, who had vacillated between UA and Illinois in the recruiting process, dropped UA and chose the Illini at the eleventh hour. Barnett also had offers from the likes of Penn State, Miami, Tennessee and Texas A&M, but when a player like that bails on a commitment too close to signing day, the vacancy can't always be filled by a player in similarly high demand.
The spot has to be backfilled by identifying an unknown like Brown. And whether than unknown can play at an SEC level is what makes GM's like Morgan good, or not as good, at what they do.
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Nobody can say tying Morgan to Brown isn't fair game — after all, at $1.2 million per year, Morgan earns more than all but two Crimson Tide assistant coaches in a role that didn't technically exist at UA until head coach Kalen DeBoer's arrival in 2024. And all signs are pointing to Morgan's last-minute recruiting find getting an immediate chance to show what he can do.
Alabama's running back depth has taken an injury hit with the loss of sophomore AK Dear, who won't be ready to play when the season begins on Sept. 5. Then there's freshman EJ Crowell, who has missed more practices than he's participated in since his arrival on campus. Unlike Dear, Crowell should be physically able to play in Alabama's opener against East Carolina, but he's missed so much practice, it's worth pointing out that physically able and readiness to contribute are two very different things.
Veteran Daniel Hill figures to be Alabama's starter, but the competition to back him up couldn't be more wide-open as UA enters the midpoint of fall camp. And no matter how much football changes — from scheme trends to NIL to expanding playoff formats — this will never change: a team can never have enough quality running backs. No other position absorbs more punishment or is more oft-injured. In turn, nobody on the bench should be more prepared to play on sudden demand than a backup running back.
But Brown's potential early-season impact for the Crimson Tide isn't just about attrition.
He was among the bright spots of Alabama's A-Day in April. While not especially big, he showed impressive balance and toughness. He could serve as a nice option as a receiver out of the backfield, particularly on third downs, as a complementary style to Hill's bruising, downhill method.
And sooner than anyone expected, he might have to.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football running back will reveal more than just talent | Goodbread