Football is back in the air. Alabama is set to kick off its fall camp this week as it holds its first practice on Friday. Before the Crimson Tide returns to the field, BamaInsider will take a look at each of the position groups. We continue our series today by examining the running back position.
Biggest question: How will Alabama spread out its carries
Alabama has elected to go with a running back by committee the past three seasons, and that shouldn’t change this year. Even with the introduction of first-year offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, head coach Nick Saban ensured that the Crimson Tide’s offense won’t look too much different than it did last season.
“You know, we don't change systems at Alabama,” Saban said during SEC Media Days. “So we change the system to effectively take advantage of the players that we have in our program. So that's what we want to do. Obviously, we'll do some different things and some new things relative to the new coaches that we have, but we also maintain the same system that we've had in the past.”
So where does that leave Alabama’s backfield? The Crimson Tide lost its top two backs from last year in Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs but should still have a potent trio this season in Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr. and Trey Sanders.
Damien Harris was Alabama’s lead back the past three years, averaging roughly 10 carries per game (10.0 in 2018, 9.64 in 2017 and 9.73 in 2016). Meanwhile, Alabama’s second-choice back has typically averaged around nine carries over that span — Jacobs averaged right at eight carries per game after breaking onto the scene late last season while Scarbrough averaged 8.85 in 2017 and 9.61 in 2016.
There’s been a bit of discrepancy in how Alabama’s used it’s third back much in part to Jalen Hurts’ carries from the quarterback position during 2016-17. During the dual-threat quarterback’s two years as the starter, Najee Harris averaged 4.35 carries per game in 2017, while Jacobs averaged 5.67 in 2016. Last year’s numbers are probably a better indication of how things will be distributed as Najee Harris averaged 7.8 carries per game.
Alabama averaged 38 carries per game last season, but that’s including quarterback runs as well as touches from younger backs late during games. The number of carries per game split amongst the top three backs should be somewhere in the high 20s.
It will be interesting to see if Alabama sticks with last year’s formula between its top three backs or if it allows one of them to take on more of a load this season. More on that below.
