Alabama Football lost its No. 2 running back Saturday when Jase McClellan went down with an injury. On Monday, Nick Saban confirmed the injury requires surgery and McClellan will out for the remainder of the season.
The loss of the sophomore takes the number of healthy running backs on the roster down to three. Also on Monday, long-awaited news on running back Camar Wheaton was provided by Saban. The freshman hurt a knee during the summer and is still not been medically cleared to play. Saban defined Wheaton’s status as week-to-week.
Jase McClellan is the Crimson Tide’s number two rusher over five games with 191 yards gained. He is also the Alabama Football running back with the most receptions; 10 for 97 yards. ‘Next man up’ is the Crimson Tide mindset but Jase will be missed. He has also been a key special teams player, but fortunately, the Tide roster is filled with guys who can step into those roles.
The biggest concern is not how good will the Tide be with just Brian Robinson Jr., Roydell Williams and Trey Sanders. The biggest concern is what happens if one of that trio goes down from injury. Willaims is a tough runner. Sanders is probably as good as McClellan has been in pass-catching out of the backfield. Some Alabama football fans view the former 5-Star, Sanders as the Crimson Tide’s most complete running back.
In week six of college football, there is no running back emergency in Tuscaloosa. Though Nick Saban did use the “emergency” word in Monday’s media comments. It was used in the context of possibly moving a player at another position to running back. He did not elaborate on who that might be, but it was clear he and his staff already know.
Given the extraordinary athletic ability of Jalen Milroe, some Tide fans would like to see it be the freshman. There are two reasons why it probably will not be Milroe. One is he needs complete focus and attention on quarterback development. The other is if Bryce goes down, Milroe might jump over Paul Tyson in the depth chart.
Two guys who could be ’emergency’ RB4s are Slade Bolden and Kristian Story. Bolden was mostly a running back in high school. The staff trusts his decision-making. He will not run away from fast defenders but he is tough. Story was an outstanding high school athlete who played multiple positions and showed strong running skills.
The full media session is available below from BamaInsider.
At least for now there is no running back emergency in Tuscaloosa. And as always, Nick Saban has a plan.