Alabama RB Jam Miller is officially questionable for Saturday's matchup against Tennessee in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Kalen DeBoer alluded to that being the case on Wednesday afternoon's SEC Coaches Teleconference, and then the Crimson Tide's first availability report of Tennessee week made that designation official.
Miller is currently in concussion protocol. He suffered the injury in the 4th quarter of Alabama's win over Missouri. He took a big hit near the sideline after securing a key 4th-and-1 reception from Ty Simpson.
Miller's availability is completely out of his hands. It's also out of the hands of the coaching staff. It will be up to Alabama's medical staff to make the determination of his status, and that decision will be made based on the checkpoints that Miller hits throughout the week.
DeBoer is optimistic that Miller will recover in time for this weekend's game.
"Jam's making good progress," DeBoer said on 'Hey Coach' on Wednesday night. “We’re not sure yet where that stands, but we’re going to think optimistically. But also, that there’s steps again. And so, it can go a lot of different directions."
Jam Miller is questionable for Alabama vs. Tennessee
It's no secret that there's a pretty sharp drop-off from Jam Miller to the rest of the RB room. Alabama certainly has capable backs behind the senior, but the talent hasn't yet translated into production.
If Miller is out, redshirt freshman Kevin Riley would be in line to start for the third time this season. Riley came into fall camp as the No. 5 RB on the depth chart, but he surged late and got on the field quickly against Florida State in the opener. He played well enough to start in Miller's place against UL Monroe and Wisconsin, but Riley has only produced 83 yards on 28 carries over the last four games.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Hill has been a bit banged-up, but he was the talk of spring and fall camp. That hasn't translated to the field, yet, however, but Hill did make the most critical play of his young Alabama career against Missouri when he caught what ultimately proved to the game-winning touchdown pass in the 4th quarter.
As a runner, however, Hill is only averaging 3.3 yards-per-carry.
Could redshirt sophomore Richard Young, senior Louisiana transfer Dre Washington, or even true freshman AK Dear step up? Young has been one of the season's most disappointing players. Most expected him to have a breakout third year in Tuscaloosa, but instead, he's gotten buried on the depth chart.
Washington could be rewarded with some carries soon for his work on special teams. He made the key stop on Missouri's fake punt in the 4th quarter.
Alabama will hope to have Miller back this weekend, but if they don't, someone is going to have to step up in a major way for the offense to have success.