Alabama Football: RB depth a genuine concern for postseason

Alabama football is down to one healthy running back

Last spring, Alabama football had the deepest group of running backs in college football. One transferred to Texas because of playing time. Since then, all but one have suffered significant injuries.

Jase McClellan went down with an injury earlier this year, and Camar Wheaton followed suit. Roydell Williams is also out, which left the Tide with just two running backs. Brian Robinson suffered an injury last week in the Iron Bowl, and his status is unknown for the SEC Championship.

If Robinson isn’t available against Georgia, Alabama will be down to Trey Sanders and Trey Sanders alone. Sanders has all the potential in the world, but he was RB3 at best to start the year. At times, he dipped behind both McClellan and Williams on the depth chart. Besides, any back needs someone to change the pace.

At this point in the year, the margin of error is nonexistent. Alabama football needs a perfect game to beat Georgia and cement its stake in the College Football Playoff. The offensive line needs to step up and play its best game against its biggest opponent. All of this becomes harder to do with the lack of depth at running back.

If Robinson doesn’t play, the Tide will get creative at running back. Christian Leary and Slade Bolden might take some snaps in the backfield on Saturday. Regardless, Sanders would need to play the best game of his life against a daunting defensive front.

Even if Alabama were to upset the Bulldogs, they would need Robinson back if they wanted to win a championship. You cannot expect to finish the season with Sanders as your only healthy scholarship running back.

Injuries can’t always be avoided. For Alabama, it seems they have consolidated at this one position. This late in the year, it is a point of genuine concern for the Crimson Tide. We’ll see if they can overcome it this weekend.