Alabama football will have an embarrassment of riches at RB.
Alabama recruits are used to having to wait for playing time. After all, Najee Harris had to wait until his third season to start, and Jaylen Waddle was also a junior before he received a major amount of targets. Mac Jones is a Heisman candidate, but he had to wait until his fourth year with Alabama football to be the full-time starter.
While this is almost always the case, it will be even more so for a new five-star running back. Camar Wheaton has committed to play for the Crimson Tide after the Early Signing Period. Wheaton has excellent speed at a quality size, and he will be a star in Tuscaloosa.
However, Wheaton will join an absolutely loaded backfield in 2021. While the focus has been on Najee Harris, there is a ready stable of options behind him. They vary in health and experience. For example, Brian Robinson has been Alabama football’s second-string back all season. He has the opportunity to start next year, but he will likely head for the NFL Draft. Even without starting, he has done enough to warrant an NFL contract.
Even if he leaves with Najee, there are plenty of young options to compete for carries. The one player we’ve had our eyes on for two years is Trey Sanders. Sanders has had to overcome a ton of adversity, and his health for 2020 remains uncertain.
There are also two amazing freshmen currently on the team. Jase McClellan has shown that he has what it takes to start in Sanders’ absence. Roydell Williams has also shown plenty of promise in his first season with the team.
All of these players are great, but you have to add Keilan Robinson back into the mix. Robinson has not played all season, and the assumption is that he opted out of this season due to COVID-19. While he hasn’t played all season, he showed that he has the skill back in 2019. He will work for first-string touches once he is back.
With all of these options, Wheaton will have to compete as soon as he joins the Alabama football team. His best-case scenario is being RB4 this summer. His worst-case scenario is RB6.
This doesn’t mean that Wheaton won’t get playing time. After all, Najee Harris did see some reps in his freshman season. However, it will take a lot of work and time before he is consistently playing meaningful reps.