Alabama football running backs shape up for fall camp

Replacing Jace McClellan drafted to the NFL and FSU transfer Roydell Williams will likely be a problem, but Alabama football has several individuals coming back to do so.

The Crimson Tide also return running backs coach Robert Gillespie from, Nick Saban staff to that of Kalen DeBoer’s. Gillespie added the moniker of assistant head coach to his responsibilities under the tutelage of DeBoer. Besides, Gillespie will be in charge of the running back, and the Crimson Tide offence will be commanded by Nick Sheridan, who was also hired by DeBoer for Washington stall.

Alabama returns Justice Haynes, Jam Miller and Richard Young from its team last year while adding two true freshmen from its 2024 recruiting cycle that ranked second in the nation: quarterback prospect John Turner and four-star defensive talents Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley.

This is how the running back corps will line up for Alabama heading into fall camp. Every scholarship player and any notable walk-on is mentioned:Every scholarship player and any notable walk-on is mentioned:

The tactical possibilities that Alabama football has at the running back position

Projected starters: Justice Haynes; So. ; Jam Miller, jr.

Reserves: Richard Young, r-fr. ; Daniel Hill, fr. ; Kevin Riley, fr.

Haynes should be expected to be among the frontline players within the backfield of Crimson Tide this season. Alabama sophomore is 5-foot-11, 205-pound sophomore, who joined the crimson tide as the five-star recruit out of Buford Georgia in 2023. In 2023, starks rushed for 168 yards for 25 times with two going for a touchdown.

As a sophomore in 2023 season, Miller broaden up his playing time where he featured mostly in the rushing aspect of the team with 41 rushing attempts for 201 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, he also caught four passes for 73 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. On special teams Miller also made an adjunct and made four tackles.

Young was also active in three games for Alabama during the last season, in which he was involved in rushing where he produced 24 yards out of the total of nine rushes and was able to score a touchdown.

In the breakdown of the student athletes, Hill arrives at the Capstone as a four star according to the 247Sports Composite while Riley also enters the university with the same rating. Riley is a local talent, with him being in Tuscaloosa County High School situated in Northport while Hill is in Meridian High School in Meridian, Mississippi.

The upside

The passing game will be the primary focus here as a reflection of DeBoer and Sheridan’s offense, but the backfield data will also be used.

During the last season at Washington, DeBoer coaches Dillion Johnson, the transfer from Mississippi State leading the team in rushing and ranked 21th in the NCAA with 1,195 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns for the Huskies in 15 games. Last two seasons Alabama has not produced a 1,000 yard rusher but with new offence it stands a good chance to achieve this season.

Should also expect DeBoer to also use its running backs as pass receivers and that those should also be threats coming out of the backfield. This will, of course, be a new experience for some of them especially Alabama running back but then again not for all of them. Last season, Miller caught only one pass against Georgia where he received the ball and carried it 28-yards to score in the end zone in the SEC Championship game.

During the spring practice in March, DeBoer said, “They all can do everything that we want” referring to the Crimson Tide running back room. ‘They fit our offense very well because they can come out of the backfield and catch the ball Football is a downhill physical game, for these guys, but at the same time they are able to do the jumpcut, get to the outside, turn on the speed’.

One question or concern

Truly, of the five running backs currently in the team list including the three who played in the previous season and are coming back, none has ever been a starting running back for the Crimson Tide.

Among returners last season taking most snaps in Alabama’s backfield was Miller with a total of 118 snaps. Miller, Haynes, and Young contributed to a total of 178 snaps the last season out of all the available opportunities. In other words, that is to their credit in place of McClellan who led the team in the number of snaps last season with 437 snaps and Williams participated in 313 snaps.

Haynes and Miller were not starting any games last season but were also playing in almost all of the contests for the Crimson Tide and do possess SEC experience end College Football Playoffs. The freshman Haynes in the Rose Bowl got 4 carries for 31 yards and a long run of 11, while the difficult Miller to enter Georgia for a touchdown in the SEC Championship game vs scored 9 for 23 having come in for the injured McClellan.

There are also questions as to how the snaps will be divided among Haynes’s accounts the Miller and Young accounts. All three players appeared in A-Day game and each rushed for a touchdown but DeBoer has not shared on how he plans to incorporate all his runners.

Breakout candidate

Haynes did not have a major freshman season and did not get many touches in 2023 but should have a much larger role this year with McClellan and Williams gone.

Haynes is now very much thought of at the front of the Crimson Tide running back room, and he for sure has the physical attributes to come through with a great sophomore season.