TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama’s running game fired on all cylinders in its 34-0 demolition against Missouri on Saturday. The Crimson Tide rushed for 271 yards, its highest total since Week 1 against Western Kentucky. Alabama also averaged 7.3 yards per carry against the Tigers.
Tide running backs Justice Haynes and Jam Miller had one of their best games of the season as the Tide’s lead running back duo. Haynes literally bowled over the competition for his lone touchdown and had 79 yards on the ground. Miller added two scores of his own and had 48 yards on 11 carries.
With the game in hand in the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman running back Richard Young also had the opportunity to make an impact in just his third appearance this season.
Young made the most of his time on the field in the fourth quarter. With Alabama backed up at its own 3-yard line, Young burst through the line, juked a pair of Missouri defenders and scampered upfield for a 63-yard run that was both a big moment for Young and prevented Alabama from punting from its own end zone, which could have given Missouri an opportunity to score and prevent the shutout.
“He did a really good job of wanting to get us out of the end zone,” Alabama running backs coach Robert Gillespie said. “When you’re backed up like that the main thing you want to do is try to get the ball out so if you do have to punt you’re in good position to do that. But he did a really good job trusting the line squeezing through and making the guy miss at the next level. So it was exciting to see him make the last guy miss, and he’s a guy that’s been fighting through a bunch of injuries. So to see him get in the game and get in there and make a play like that, you can look at the sideline and see how excited they were for him.”
Young’s appearance Saturday was his first game action since the Tide’s September trip to Madison. Gillespie said the redshirt freshman back got banged up against the Badgers and has been dealing with some knocks since. The Tide running backs coach complimented Young's work in the training room and on the practice field as he’s continued to get back to speed.
In the time between his appearances, Gillespie also said Young is continuing to take advantage of “mental reps” to improve in key areas at the running back spot.
“He just hasn’t had a lot of game reps,” Gillespie said. “So his reps are a lot of the metal reps or practice reps that he’s got to continue to get better at. Any running back has to get better with ball security and just the fundamentals of pass protection. So I'd say those are the biggest things is just the ins and outs of that not only for him but the rest of the group also.”
Young’s big play showed off his explosiveness and demonstrated the potential for Young to be a mainstay in Alabama’s future backfield. He has 21 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown in his Crimson Tide career so far. Despite being behind Haynes and Miller on the depth chart this season, Young has been anything but a bystander. He earned his opportunity against Missouri by working hard to get healthy and making the most of his time on the practice field. While he’s still developing his own craft, Young’s experience and leadership have also been leaned on as Alabama’s running back room looks to keep its good form rolling heading out of the bye week.
“He’s a guy that you don’t have to lead around a lot,” Gillespie said of Young. “He understands what he’s supposed to do. He’s a good big brother to the guys that are younger than him, Kevin Riley, Daniel Hill. So even though he’s a young guy, my whole room is pretty much young, so they do a good job of just feeding off of each other, the rights and wrongs and things they can do better.”
