TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In the blazing summer heat, a small portion of the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields has become Alabama football’s own version of the valley of the shadow of death.

This hellacious nightmare on grass is where the Crimson Tide players were tested and taken far beyond their physical and mental limits on a daily basis during summer workouts. It’s a place no one looked forward to visiting, but it wasn’t optional.

This is Practice Field 3.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Crimson Tide offensive lineman Michael Carroll told BamaCentral at Alabama Media Day on Saturday.

“It was… yeah…You don’t want to talk about Field 3,” cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. said.

“You know you’re about to be put through the wringer, you know you’re about to have a tough day,” left tackle Jackson Lloyd said.

Practice Field 3 is not a reward nor a punishment — even though it feels like one. Players aren’t sent there to do things on their own. Instead, the whole team does the rigorous job. Alabama strength coach Dave Ballou is the CEO of the field, and just describing what goes on there is a tough task.

“Man, man, man, you’ve just got to be there,” Alabama wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams said while smiling. “I ain’t gonna lie, Practice Field 3, that’s a different warrior. During the offseason, you definitely don’t want nothing to do with it. During the season, you still don’t want nothing to do with it.”

A lot of players had similar reactions when we asked about Practice Field 3, as their eyes widened with a vision of what goes down on that piece of land with nervous laughter mixed in. But wide receiver Rico Scott rolled his eyes, chuckled and took a deep breath.

“Pain,” Scott said. “When DeBoer tells us to go to Field 3, it’s like a ‘here we go again’ kind of thing. Really that’s because of Ballou, because most of the time when you think about Field 3 you think about summer workouts that Ballou’s putting us through.”

But Practice Field 3 itself isn’t the villain. That’s what the Ring of Fire located on it is for. Alabama running back Daniel Hill explained that there are drill stations in the ring, and it’s a constant loop while rotating like a square. Lloyd said it’s a “bunch of movement prep stuff, a bunch of running,” but no one dared to go into the specifics.

Water breaks don’t seem to be an option as it’s non-stop moving for 45 minutes straight. So, what’s Hill’s favorite part of it?

“It’s fun…after you get done, yes,” Hill said. “After you get done, then it’s fun.”

Not even SEC Media Days in Tampa last month could save player representatives, Coleman-Williams, safety Bray Hubbard and cornerback Zabien Brown from the Ring of Fire, as they had to compete when they returned.

Hubbard said that there isn’t necessarily a set time in what he described as the “brutal” Ring of Fire. There were times when Ballou conducted it for over 90 minutes during the summer, and it “depends how long coach Ballou likes to make it.” The Preseason First Team All-SEC member detailed that the Ring of Fire is 30-by-30 yards, as there’s a lot of ground to cover.

“It’s like a gauntlet,” Hubbard said while laughing. “When you go out to Field 3, it’s time to work. You get pushed to your limit — what does it take to break you? But we all need it, and it’s a part of [Alabama football].”

Oftentimes, we survive because the fire inside of us burns brighter than the fire around us, and this became the case for Alabama players competing on Practice Field 3.

“I’ve been saying it to everyone — it’s a mental game,” safety Ivan Taylor said. “It really does change your mentality. Coach Ballou, man, he’s crazy, so all of us try to have his mentality. We’re trying to be like him when it comes down to just being crazy.”

Alabama safety Keon Sabb, one of the most experienced players on the roster, is well aware of Practice Field 3 and the Ring of Fire. But his multi-year leadership has helped him share a similar perspective to Taylor.

“It’s a legendary field where you learn and understand how to deal with pain,” Sabb said while smiling. “You truly start to understand what mindset you need to have in football. Field 3, you go out there and know what to expect, the way you go there and down that field, it’s about attacking it. You can’t run from the work, it’s not going to go anywhere. You’ve just got to put your head down and run through it.”

Alabama is in an unfamiliar spot entering the 2026 season, as it was picked 11th in the Preseason Coaches Poll, its lowest placement since 2008, and fifth in the SEC’s initial ranking. On Aug. 5, DeBoer was asked during the press conference if his players are paying attention to the doubts from outside the program.

DeBoer’s answer: “Yeah, we are definitely aware.”

Alabama has plenty of bulletin board material heading into the 2026 season. Practice Field 3 and the Ring of Fire are only making the Crimson Tide hungrier. Sabb said his favorite part of it is seeing how his teammates respond and react to the workout. Seeing players get to a point where they might fall over or pass out, but they just keep on going. They know the national expectations surrounding the Crimson Tide.

Taylor, the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion Ike Taylor, described it as “horrible,” but also admitted that it can be fun, as he holds a similar perspective to his fellow safety.

“You get to compete against your brothers,” Taylor said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for me — it’s just competing. I know that’s why a lot of people come to Alabama is to compete against the best and try to get the best out of yourself.”

Alabama Wolf linebacker Yhonzae Pierre shared that the Ring of Fire is far from the only thing the Tide did during a typical summer practice. The weight room, indoor field, sleds, squats and gassers all came before spending time on Practice Field 3.

Pierre, Alabama’s sacks and tackles for loss leader in 2025, isn’t in love with an “hour of straight running,” but he also understands why Ballou and DeBoer put the Tide through the Ring of Fire.

“Can’t let it kill you, you got to beat it, it’s definitely work,” Pierre said while shaking his head. “We’re pushing all of each other and not letting the workout kill us. We’ve got to beat the workout.”

So, what happens when you come out of Practice Field 3? Is there a long-term positive to the Ring of Fire?

“Oh, like definitely,” Carroll said. “It’s going to pay off, because now I feel like I’m in better shape and more prepared than anyone in the nation. I can’t wait to put that on display.”

Alabama has been labeled as a soft team all offseason. If Practice Field 3 and the Ring of Fire serve their purposes — as they should — the Crimson Tide can have an edge over the conference and change its imposed narrative very quickly this fall.

After all, Sabb had the option to declare for the NFL Draft, but made the surprising move to return for his fifth year of college football. Why?

“Win a National Championship,” Sabb said in the spring. “I won one already [at Michigan in 2023]. I’m trying to win my second now. We’ve got the talent and stuff to do it, so I’m looking forward to it.”

After a grueling but very productive summer, the Ring of Fire is over. But this 30-by-30-yard patch of grass was just the warmup.

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