Alabama Football: How many running backs can Tide feed in ’21

Alabama Football: No Crimson Tide position group will be deeper than running back. Distributing touches among seven backs is a challenge.

The 2021 Alabama football season will have at least one solid certainty. Barring an unprecedented rash of injuries, the Crimson Tide will have two or three fresh running backs in the fourth quarter of every game. Even more importantly, those fresh running backs will be guys who would either start, on be in the two-deep, of most other SEC teams.

The flip side to having such a bounty of talent will be trying to provide enough touches to keep the seven Tide RBs fully engaged. At least a couple will have special teams roles. But none of the seven players came to Tuscaloosa for a career just on special teams.

As the Crimson Tide offenses evolved over the last three seasons, it is worthwhile to review the impact on the running back position.

In the 2018 season, four running backs got all but 10 of the running back touches (rushing and receiving). Damien Harris was the most active with 150 carries and 22 receptions, totaling 1080 yards. Next was Josh Jacobs with 120 carries and 20 receptions for a combined 887 yards. Najee Harris had 117 carries and four receptions for 787 yards. Brian Robinson Jr. had 63 carries for 272 yards. The 2018 offense, with 571 running back touches was slightly more running back focused than the 2019 and 2020 offenses. The big difference in stats is because the 2018 Alabama Crimson Tide played 15 games, compared to 13 in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

In the 2019 season, running back touches went to 477. Najee Harris got 206 carries and 27 receptions, for 1,528 yards. Brian Robinson Jr. had 91 carries and 11 receptions for 565 yards. Keilan Robinson and Jerome Ford combined for 63 carries, mostly in mop-up duty, plus two pass receptions.

An even heavier burden was placed on Najee Harris in the 2020 season. Alabama Crimson Tide running backs again earned 477 touches in the 2020 season. Najee Harris got 294 of them, with 251 rushes and 43 receptions, for 1,891 yards. Brian Robinson Jr. had 91 carries and six receptions for 509 yards. Jase McClellan, Trey Sanders and Roydell Williams combined for 72 carries and eight receptions, for 475 yards.

How much the Crimson Tide offense will change under Bill O’Brien is not known. O’Brien’s last Penn State team was about 60-40 run-heavy, averaging almost 42 carries per game. But that was the 2013 season and college football is not the same today. No doubt, Bill O’Brien has changed as well.

Brian Robinson Jr. is in line to be the lead back in 2021. Based on the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons, meaningful snaps are not likely to go to four Crimson Tide running backs. The battle for RB2 and RB3 will be intense. Once healthy, Trey Sanders should lead the competition. It is not yet known if hip surgery, caused by a November car accident, will be healed enough for him to participate this spring. Reports are his hip injury was not as serious as was Tua Tagovailoa’s and should have a quicker recovery.

A returning Keilan Robinson showed flashes in the 2019 season and could vault to RB2. Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams cannot be ruled out. Camar Wheaton will also compete, but with his summer arrival, he will need to progress into the season to have a key role. If there is an odd man out, it is likely to be Kyle Edwards. Edwards was on the team but did not play in the 2020 season.

Going back to the normal out-of-conference schedule will allow extra snaps for backups in week two and week four of the season. By mid-season, the top three Alabama Football running backs will have earned their designated roles. Injuries and transfer decisions can happen anytime. Seven on the running back roster could easily be less by fall camp.

Roster management is never easy for Nick Saban. He always makes the numbers work and Alabama football insiders commend him for helping many players find good transfer destinations.