Alabama RB Room Has Some Serious Depth

Alabama running back Jase McClellan (2) runs down field against Texas at Darrell K RoyalÐTexas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX on Saturday, Sep 10, 2022.

The argument can be made that outside of Bryce Young, Georgia Tech transfer Jahmyr Gibbs was far and away the most important player to the Alabama offense in 2022. He was a key component in both the running game as well as the passing game in his lone season in Tuscaloosa. With Gibbs headed for the NFL Draft, it will be a hit to the running back room, but this does not necessarily mean the production from the group as a whole will suffer.

Alabama is going to have five players in the room who are capable of contributing, and I believe rather than one bell cow, it will be a rotation of different guys. The group is headlined by Jase McClellan, who has been a key contributor for multiple seasons now and has been excellent in his role. Alabama likely does not win the Texas or Ole Miss games this past season without him. After McClellan, it gets a bit murky.

Experience wise, Roydell Williams would be next in line. Williams, however, has struggled to stay on the field and establish himself as a critical piece of the rotation. I believe this season, while Williams will be a factor, he will be overtaken by the speedy rising sophomore, Jamarion Miller, who only got 33 carries during his freshman campaign, but made the most of them, averaging nearly 7 yards per touch and finding the end zone twice.

After these three, there are two freshman who have both reportedly been doing very well in the spring and could certainly make an impact on the room as well. Justice Haynes, a five-star product out of Buford, Georgia, has impressed coaches during the spring and could be too good to keep off the field. Richard Young is a four-star freshman out of Lehigh Acres, Florida who has had a nice spring as well.

The long and short of it is that Alabama has a ton of depth in the running back room and no matter who Nick Saban throws out there, they will be extremely talented. If new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees wants to bring Alabama back to a ground and pound type, wear you down by running the ball team, he certainly has the tools in the shed to make it happen.