We continue our preview of spring practice for Alabama football today by taking a look at the running back room. You can read our preview of the quarterback competition here.
Alabama will be looking to get back to more of a traditional running game in 2025 regardless of who emerges victorious in the QB competition. Jalen Milroe was the team's leading rusher last season and the designed QB runs with him tended to render the running backs moot. They were blockers more than runners, and rising senior Jam Miller was the only one who carried the ball more than 100 times.
Miller returns coming off of a 668-yard, seven-touchdown season in 2024. He leads a room that is not short on talent but does lack SEC experience behind him. His decision to return instead of entering the NFL Draft was important.
Miller figures to lead the room, but the competition for carries behind him will be interesting to follow in the spring and through fall camp and the early part of the 2025 schedule. Alabama lost an experienced back in Justice Haynes in the Transfer Portal, leaving the No. 2 job behind Miller wide open.
Richard Young is entering his third year in the program and has his eyes not just on the No. 2 spot, but would like to put pressure on Miller to become the featured back. Young battled injuries last season but flashed his potential with an impressive 62-yard run against Missouri. He was Alabama's No. 3 running back last season, but the Tide struggled enough to get carries to both Miller and Haynes. The bulk of Young's 27 carries last season came in games that were long since decided.
Alabama wanted some added depth and game experience in the RB room following Haynes' decision to transfer. Kalen DeBoer and company went out and added Dre'lyn Washington from Louisiana. Washington is an experienced back and averaged 6.5 yards per carry a year ago for the Ragin' Cajuns. Stepping up into the SEC will be a significant rise in competition for him, but he's an intriguing player and adds some competition and experience to the room.
Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley - two 4-star RBs from Alabama's 2024 recruiting class - will hope to make a move this spring and jump up the depth chart. Neither took a meaningful snap last season and there weren't any real noteworthy moments in garbage time, either.
Perhaps the most intriguing player in the RB room is the youngest. Alabama signed the nation's No. 2 RB in the 2025 cycle, 4-star Akylin Dear from Mississippi. He enters a crowded running back room but is talented enough to push for playing time immediately.
Dear has the frame to be an immediate contributor at this level. He enrolled early and will go through spring practice with hopes of making a move up the depth chart. I think he has a good chance of jumping Hill and Riley but breaking into that top three where he could expect some meaningful carries might be difficult.
Regardless of which backs see playing time in 2025, Alabama has to run the football better than they did a year ago. A first-time starting QB will need to be able to rely on his backs to identify the holes and run through them. Of course, a lot of that will depend on the offensive line's ability to open up holes in the running game, too.
More consistent carries should help, too. Alabama has the experience and the raw talent necessary for this group to take a big step forward next season.