Alabama Football: Tide’s report card vs. Mercer Bears

Alabama football’s report card vs. Mercer

Running Backs: C+

Alabama should’ve had a dominant performance running the ball this weekend. They got the job done, but it was far from dominant. Alabama’s inability to run consistently kept them off the field in the first half.

Alabama football’s longest run play of the day was for only 16 yards. Some blame falls on the offensive line, but you can’t expect to win consistently with that performance from the running backs.

On the bright side, Sanders looked solid in his reps. He appears to be fully healthy, which should scare opponents. Also, Jase McClellan scored three total touchdowns. He ran one in, caught a touchdown pass and returned a blocked punt for a score.

The running backs had 125 rushing yards on 25 runs. That won’t cut it next week against the Gators.

Wide Receivers: B-

This was a day for Alabama football’s depth to flex at receiver. Metchie had a good day, but the true star was JoJo Earle. Earle got some reps as a punt returner, and he hauled in plenty of solid catches. When he had the ball, you could see his potential. He still needs time to fully develop, but he has what it takes to be a great receiver.

There were some drops early, and that hurt the Tide in the first half. Once the passing offense got into a rhythm, Alabama had a solid day from the entire receiver room. It could’ve been better, but all the mistakes were fixable.