With rain a possibility in Tallahassee for Alabama’s Week 1 matchup with Florida State on Saturday, the Crimson Tide may have to keep the ball on the ground, but Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will have to do it without their top option in the backfield.
Senior running back Jam Miller will miss Alabama’s season-opener with a dislocated collarbone that he suffered in the Crimson Tide’s second scrimmage of fall camp. Miller ran for 668 yards and seven touchdowns on 145 carries last season to lead all Alabama running backs.
Miller isn’t expected back until Week 5 when Alabama heads to Athens, Georgia, to face the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC opener. Miller is currently doubtful for the Tide’s next two games after taking on Florida State on the road, Louisiana Monroe and Wisconsin, which will both be played a Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Running back Jam Miller ruled out for Crimson Tide’s Week 1 matchup with Seminoles
With Miller injured, Alabama is entering Week 1 without its top three rushers from last year’s team: Jalen Milroe, Miller, and Justice Haynes, who transferred to Michigan this offseason. That’s 1,842 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns of production for DeBoer and Grubb to replace.
The likely candidates to fill in Miller’s role are Dre Washington, a veteran Louisiana transfer, and redshirt sophomore Richard Young. Neither has shouldered an extension workload throughout their collegiate careers, so it could be a running back by committee approach for the Tide.
Regardless of how Washington, Young, and any other Alabama running back who sees the field on Saturday perform, the Crimson Tide won’t be able to replace the production of Milroe, who was one of the most prolific rushing quarterbacks in the country. First-year starting quarterback Ty Simpson has shown some mobility in his limited action throughout the last three seasons in Tuscaloosa, but he isn’t nearly the runner that Milroe was.
With the shift to Simpson comes a shift to a more traditional run game, which could even feature more under-center snaps from the quarterback. DeBoer and last year’s OC Nick Sheridan, who was demoted to quarterback coach once Grubb rejoined DeBoer this offseason, molded their offense to an option-heavy attack to suit Milroe’s skillset last season, but the results were underwhelming.
Despite Milroe’s jaw-dropping athleticism, Alabama finished a pedestrian 61st in the country in rushing success rate and just 36th in expected points added per carry (according to gameonpaper.com). If the rushing attack doesn’t improve in Week 1, potentially on a sloppy field in Tallahassee, Alabama could find itself in trouble as a two-touchdown betting favorite.