Multiple published reports say The Las Vegas Raiders are hiring Alabama assistant wide receivers coach Torrey Gill as a quality control coach. The move comes within three weeks of the Crimson Tide’s season opener against East Carolina on Saban Field at Bryant Denny Stadium. Gill’s reported departure isn’t the only jolt to Alabama’s running backs unit.
Alabama running back AK Dear is expected to miss about six weeks because of an ankle injury sustained in a preseason scrimmage. Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer says Dear was injured in the first of two scrimmages and would be evaluated. 247Sports and On3 report tests revealed the severity of the injury. Dear, a redshirt freshman from Mississippi, had been in the mix for the starting job to replace Jam Miller. The Crimson Tide will now turn to highly touted freshman Trae’shawn Brown, EJ Crowell and Daniel Hill. Hill led the team with six rushing touchdowns in 2025.
Torrey Gill was widely considered to be a “star maker” at Alabama. When former wide receivers’ coach JaMarcus Shepard left Tuscaloosa to become the head coach of Oregon State, Gill moved up and helped freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams have a breakout year for the Tide.Gill also helped Alabama’s Germie Bernard grow to a top fifty pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. That resume may be why the Raiders are interested in Gill, to refine up-and-coming Las Vegas players like Malik Benson and Jack Bech.