Mississippi native and Alabama running back AK Dear is expected to miss an extended amount of playing time after suffering a lower leg injury.
Dear, per multiple reports, was hurt on Thursday during the Crimson Tide’s first scrimmage of preseason camp. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has not publicly commented on the injury, though beat reporters close to the scene have said it is not expected to be season-ending. Fellow Mississippian Daniel Hill is projected to be Alabama’s primary ball carrier this season.
A sophomore, Dear appeared in five games in 2025-26. As a freshman, he earned 19 carries and rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns. He caught three passes for 18 yards and was on pace to play a bigger role for the Crimson Tide this upcoming campaign.
Dear spent his prep years at Quitman High School, where he excelled and became one of the top prospects in football. The running back was ranked by 247Sports as a top 100 player of the 2025 class. He was listed as a top five prospect in Mississippi and the No. 2 player at his position in the entire nation.
He first committed to Ole Miss in March 2024, then flipped his commitment to Alabama roughly five months later, and has remained with the Crimson Tide since. Though Dear’s injury is not expected to sideline him for the duration of the upcoming campaign, there is no set timeline for his expected return to action.
Dear is not the only Mississippi running back donning an out-of-state school’s uniform to be injured in the offseason. Oma native and Missouri back Ahmad Hardy is currently rehabilitating after being shot in Laurel back in May. Meanwhile, Picayune native and Georgia running back Dante Dowdell is recovering from an ATV accident that hospitalized him.
