Alabama Should Designate Jalston Fowler as the Goalline Back

Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you kept waiting for it to happen. Bama inside the five, lines up with power. Yeldon or Drake dots the I, Fowler the upback. When it wasn’t a Play Action pass to Fowler in the flat for a TD, I was waiting for it. The call that seemed so obvious but never came.

A handoff to the big 250 Fowler from his FB position. We had no trouble punching it in with Yeldon or Drake, but it just seemed so obvious that Jalston should have seen a couple of carries. Perhaps it was too obvious and Saban/Nuss thought against it, or perhaps some were called and AJ checked to the PA and threw it to Fowler so they’d both get a TD.

But either way, using Jalston as a Goalline back has some advantages.

First of all, it’ll be Jalston’s final year of eligibility, and by all accounts he’s been all Crimson and White during his tenure at the Capstone. Getting him plenty of TDs would be a nice thank you that Saban loves to give to the older players. And hey, he deserves it.

But it also helps the rest of the offense. What has been discussed over the past week or so when it comes to the offense? Explosiveness. The hiring of Lane Kiffin, if anything, made plenty of us Tide fans believe we’ll see an increase in explosive plays for the offense. While Coach Kiffin’s scheme is bound to create big play opportunities, he could use a little help on the mental side of things. And there is no greater assistance he can be given than to make everyone else hungry, especially the three headed behemoth of a backfield featuring TJ Yeldon, Kenyan Drake, and Derrick Henry.

If the TD is always going to Nudie (Fowler’s nickname) in goal to go situations, it will make the tailbacks hungry for Touchdowns now that they’re not getting the easy ones from a couple of yards away. If they want TDs, they’ll have to use all of that talent we know they have and break off more long runs, but more importantly FINISH those long runs.

Some may see this as a bad idea, but those people aren’t aware of how mental the game of football really is. Look at the past few years for Alabama, when failure knocks, what is the first thing we turn to? Complacency. We blame complacency, and we’re not wrong to do so. There is no doubt the Tide simply puts more talent on the field than everyone else, but what happens when that talent isn’t hungry? They give 50% effort, and 50% effort isn’t good enough in today’s College Football to win titles, especially with the Playoff Era arriving.

So I’m merely making a simple suggestion that may never cross the minds of Coach Saban or Coach Kiffin, but I bring the suggestion to light because it seems so obvious. But perhaps like the FB handoffs, maybe it’s too obvious for Coach Saban. If they want TDs, make them earn it on long runs that we know they can rip off. Just one step I hope to see the Tide take in the endless battle against complacency.

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