anna snyder, tuscaloosa news
·4 min read
Alabama football looks to replace NFL draftee Jace McClellan and Florida State transfer Roydell Williams in its backfield but has several candidates returning to do so.
The Crimson Tide also return running backs coach Robert Gillespie from coach Nick Saban's staff to that of Kalen DeBoer's. Gillespie picked up the title of assistant head coach to his duties under DeBoer. Along with Gillespie leading the running backs, the Crimson Tide offense will now be led by offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, who came to Tuscaloosa from Washington alongside DeBoer.
Alabama returns Justice Haynes, Jam Miller and Richard Young from its team last year while adding two true freshmen from its 2024 recruiting cycle that ranked second in the nation: four-star prospects Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley.
Here is how Alabama’s running back room looks heading into fall camp. Every scholarship player and any notable walk-on is mentioned:
The options for Alabama football at running back
Projected starters: Justice Haynes, so.; Jam Miller, jr.
Reserves: Richard Young, r-fr.; Daniel Hill, fr.; Kevin Riley, fr.
Haynes will likely be at the forefront of the Crimson Tide's backfield this season. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound sophom*ore came to Alabama as a five-star prospect out Buford, Georgia in 2023. He carried the ball 25 times for 168 yards with two touchdowns in 2023.
Miller expanded his role during his sophom*ore season in 2023, rushing the ball 41 times for 201 yards and a touchdown along with adding four receptions for an additional 73 yards and a touchdown. Miller also contributed on special teams, tallying four tackles.
Young saw action in three games for Alabama last season, rushing nine times for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Hill and Riley both come to the Capstone as four-star prospects per the 247Sports Composite. Riley is a hometown kid, attending high school at Tuscaloosa County High in Northport while Hill is out of Meridian High School in Meridian, Mississippi.
The upside
DeBoer and Sheridan's offense will be dominant in its passing game, but will also utilize the backfield.
Last season at Washington, DeBoer coaches Dillion Johnson, a Mississippi State transfer led the team in rushing and finished 21st in the NCAA with 1,195 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns across the Huskies 15 games. Alabama has not had a 1,000-yard rusher over the last two seasons, but it has a good chance to do so this season under its new offense.
Expect DeBoer to also utilize its running backs as pass catchers and for them to be receiving threats coming out of the backfield. This will be new for some Alabama running backs, but not all. Last season, Miller recorded one reception vs. Georgia, taking the ball 28-yards to the endzone in the SEC Championship game.
"They all can do everything that we want," DeBoer said of the Crimson Tide running back room during spring practice in March. "They fit our offense very well because they can come out of the backfield and catch the ball. For these guys, there is a downhill physicality they have, but they have the ability to also make the jumpcut, get to the outside, turn on the speed."
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One question or concern
Out of all five running backs Alabama has on its roster, including the three returning from last season, none have started a game for the Crimson Tide.
Of all the returners, Miller garnered the most snaps last season in Alabama's backfield (118). As a whole, Miller, Haynes and Young combined for 178 snaps last season. To put it in simpler terms, that is compared to McClellan, who led the team with 437 snaps last season and Williams, who garnered 313 snaps.
Despite none of them having started a game, Haynes and Miller did see time in nearly all of the Crimson Tide's contests last season and do have SEC experience and College Football Playoff experience. In the Rose Bowl, Haynes had four carries for 31 yards and a long of 11, while Miller scored a touchdown and logged nine carries for 23 yards in the SEC Championship game vs. Georgia, coming in for an injured McClellan.
Questions also loom regarding how snaps will be split up between Haynes, Miller and Young. All three players saw snaps on A-Day, with each scoring a touchdown, but DeBoer has yet to reveal how he intends to use all of his running backs.
Breakout candidate
Haynes had a quiet freshman season and limited carries in 2023, but he is expected to have a much bigger role this season with the departure of McClellan and Williams.
Haynes is now very much considered at the front of the Crimson Tide running back room, and he most definitely has the tools to have a breakout sophom*ore season.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Here’s how Alabama football’s running backs shape up for fall camp
