Alabama sees improvement in running game despite absence of two starters
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Alabama’s younger running backs have received plenty of playing time this spring and judging by head coach Nick Saban’s comments coming out of Friday’s scrimmage, the underclassmen are making the most of their early opportunities.
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The Crimson Tide was without two of its three returning starters at running back on Friday, as Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough did not participate during Alabama’s second scrimmage of spring camp. Scarbrough has missed both scrimmages while still recovering from a broken leg he suffered during the national championship game. Harris suffered a sprained foot during the Tide’s first scrimmage the past Saturday and has not participated in drills during practice this week.
However, rising sophomore Josh Jacobs and early enrollees Najee Harris and Brian Robinson appear to be holding their own. Najee Harris and Robinson generated some buzz in the first scrimmage, getting plenty of playing time as the Tide’s only two active backs. Friday, they again received extended reps, joining Jacobs in an improved rushing attack.
“I thought we had more missed tackles this week,” Saban said after the practice. “Which means since we're playing against ourself, maybe the offense was a little better at running after the catch or breaking some tackles on some runs.”
Following the first scrimmage, Saban said the running game was something Alabama needed to continue to work on, stating the offensive line was unable to generate a good push up front and the backs did not gain many big plays on the ground. While stats were once again not made available on Friday, the head coach seemed pleased with the way the running game progressed in its second test this spring.
“We had good balance between some of the passes,” Saban said. “Some explosive plays as well as I thought we ran the ball a little better and had a couple of explosive runs, which there was an absence of a week ago.”
Scarbrough has been in a black, no-contact jersey along with fellow running back B.J. Emmons, who was wearing a boot during practice. Both players have participated in drills in recent weeks, with Saban saying Scarbrough looks to be "like he's pretty much full speed." Meanwhile, the head coach listed Harris as day-to-day.
"We're not going to take any chances with any of these guys pushing them into A-Day," Saban said. "But we'll make that determination later on."
Alabama players will get the weekend off for Easter before returning to the field Tuesday for their 13th practice of spring camp. The practice will be one of two next week before the Tide wraps up spring camp with its A-Day game on April 22 at 2 p.m. in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“I think the No. 1 thing you want to do is sort of self-assess,” Saban said. “If you're a coach, your unit, your players. And if you're a player, self-assess, how much did I improve from last week to this week, because that's really the focus for our team right now is how do we grow, how do we develop, how do we get more guys to play winning football?
“I saw a lot of progress in some areas, some areas maybe not as much. I thought at times the twos, the second rep group, a lot of guys made a significant improvement and really played a lot better and competed a lot better against the first rep chart, which was encouraging in a lot of ways.”
Video: Alabama Running Backs In Action
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