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Alabama running backs share carries, laughs

Alabama running back Damien Harris celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Florida State in the season opener. Photo | Getty Images
Alabama running back Damien Harris celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Florida State in the season opener. Photo | Getty Images

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala — Damien Harris wasn’t about to let fellow Alabama running back Josh Jacobs get too big of a head during his second appearance in front of the media in as many weeks. Sure, Jacobs looks like a dangerous option both through the air and on the ground, but when the former high school quarterback was asked if he could still throw the ball, Harris felt he needed to step in and pump the brakes.

“No, he can’t. No, he can’t. No, he can’t,” Harris said with a smile, coming out of nowhere to interrupt the interview. “I’m here to tell you all he can’t throw the ball. No. He can’t.”

Jacobs did his best to carry on.

“When you haven’t thrown a ball in a year and a half,” he began to say before being stopped again by a loud “No” from Harris.

There most likely won’t be any surprise packages with Jacobs throwing the ball out of the backfield this season. However, the fun-loving camaraderie Alabama backs show toward one another is here to stay.

As Harris was leaving the press room, Jacobs was asked to describe his teammate. The sophomore raised his voice in order for Harris to hear him while walking out the door.

“Damien, uh, he’s goofy,” Jacobs said, drawing a smile from Harris across the room. “He’s definitely goofy, always trying to make jokes. But he’s cool. He’s kind of like a big brother really.”

That sense of humor is what makes Alabama’s talented backfield tick. Despite having the nation’s No. 7 rushing offense, averaging 302.57 yards per game on the ground, the Crimson Tide doesn’t have a running back who averages 100 or more yards on the ground.

Harris comes the closest with 625 yards through seven games, an average of 89.29 yards per game. However, the junior often lines up beside quarter Jalen Hurts, who has 558 rushing yards on the season (79.71 rushing yards per game), and also has to share the ball with at least two or three other running backs per game.

Bo Scarbrough is third on the team with 359 yards on the ground, while freshman Najee Harris is in fourth with 232 yards. Due to a hamstring injury that kept the Jacobs out of the first two games of the season, he ranks fifth on the team with 124 rushing yards, while freshman Brian Robinson has recorded 92 yards on the ground. Even former tight end Ronnie Clark has come up with 70 rushing yards this season.

Although, sharing carries hasn’t been a problem for any of Alabama’s backs.

“I definitely think it helps having a lot of guys that can come in and make plays at any given moment in the game,” Damien Harris said. “That’s kind of what we take pride in, whoever’s number’s called to being able to make the play. We don’t care who makes it, as long as the play is made when it needs to be. It’s good to have all those guys out there, have a lot of guys able to have that chance to make a play.”

Alabama head coach Nick Saban recently referred to Jacobs as Alabama’s “change-of-pace back” due to the quickness and versatility the sophomore brings to the backfield. Now that the 5-foot-10, 212-pound back is fully recovered, he’s made a difference in several spots on the field, from coming off the perimeter on jet sweeps to catching passes out of the backfield. Last week, Jacobs put together a balanced stat sheet against Arkansas, running the ball nine times for 39 yards while picking up 36 more yards on two receptions.

“It doesn’t really make a difference to me,” Jacobs said. “Just as long as the play is made is all that really matters.”

Jacobs doesn’t mind the new title handed down by his head coach. Like the rest of Alabama’s backs, he’s just happy to have a role on the team. However, as this season has shown those roles aren’t limited to the field.

Tuesday, Jacobs was asked to hand out superlatives to Alabama’s backs describing what they brought to the locker room. After a laugh, the sophomore back happily obliged.

“Damien would probably be class clown,” Jacobs said. “Bo would probably be the hype man. Brian Robinson would be the sleeper. And Najee would probably be chill.”

As for Jacobs himself?

“I’m kind of between all of them,” he said. “I probably see myself as, I don’t know, I never really thought about it.”

Just call him a contributing member of the team and a big reason why Alabama’s backfield is one of the best in the nation.

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