Many people order online and pick up in Tuscaloosa. That can be done at Target, WalMart, and now the soon-to-be-opened Bed Bath Beyond. There are probably other stores that do this as well.
You can also order online and ship to Tuscaloosa. So many place ship for free, so why not take advantage? 
Last year, I saw a bunch of OOS parents picking up their Target orders and their Walmart.com orders. BTW…Walmart.com has a ton more stuff than just the store. You can literally furnish an apt thru Walmart.com.
Boys seem to need less stuff (I know that sounds sexist). Boys seem to care less about all the coordinated stuff (girls’ dorms look like House Beautiful), and they don’t have all the clothes, shoes, hair stuff, etc, that girls have.
For boys, I found that as long as they had basic bedding and spare sheets, and a whole bunch of shirts, underwear and socks, several towels, along with their other basic clothes & toiletries…they were good to go. Seriously…21 pairs of socks and underwear…boys are notorious for delaying their laundry. And…flip flops for warm weather …no socks needed!