Tony's Take: Proposed redshirt rule just makes sense

Not yet a subscriber? Subscribe now!

Alabama running back Najee Harris certainly looked the part of the No. 1 player in the 2017 signing class this spring. The early enrollee’s multiple hurdles over teammates during the Crimson Tide’s scrimmages might have jumped him over other backs on Alabama’s depth chart as well.

But is it worth it to waste a year of Harris’ eligibility this season when Alabama might not need him?

The Tide return starters in Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough and Josh Jacobs along with B. J. Emmons, the No. 1 running back in the 2016 class. Alabama also has fellow early enrollee Brian Robinson, who had a similarly impressive spring to Najee Harris. That gives the Tide six star running backs who have all made their case to see the field this season.

* Tony's Take: Hard-working Stewart should bring grit to the Big Apple

Barring injury or transfer, it is likely Alabama will redshirt either Najee Harris or Robinson. Damien Harris is returning off a 1,000-yard season last year, and Scarbrough should be fully recovered from a broken leg suffered during the national championship game earlier this year. At times, Jacobs looked to be the Tide’s most versatile back last season, especially in the receiving game where he led all backs with 14 receptions for 156 yards.

None of Alabama’s backs are projected to get anywhere near the 395 carries Derrick Henry accumulated during his Heisman-winning season in 2015. However, an uptick from any of them might severely limit the production of either of Alabama’s two incoming freshmen. After all, when Scarbrough caught fire late last season, his carries per game more than doubled from 6.88 over the first nine games to 15.75 over the final four.

It’s also worth factoring fewer amounts of carries due to improvements in Alabama’s passing game, which were evident after the Tide combined for 661 yards through the air during its A-Day game.

So how many carries does that leave Robinson or Najee Harris? Maybe 50, 60 at best? Would that be enough to cut a year off of a player who might be gone after three anyway? What if it turns out either back wasn’t quite ready for the big stage? What if either gets hurt? Wouldn’t it be nice for Alabama to be able to know some of this before setting flame to a year of eligibility right off the bat?

The American Football Coaches Association seems to think so.

According to reports, the AFCA will propose a new rule to the NCAA that, if accepted, would allow players to play up to four games during a season while still being eligible to redshirt that year.

Under the aforementioned scenario, that would allow Saban to play both Najee Harris and Robinson next season, see how both backs progressed and then evaluate his decision moving forward. It’d allow the two players to play early, a common hot point among recruits, and seemingly leave everyone happy.

“I think I absolutely would be in favor of that,” Saban said during the SEC Spring Football Media Teleconference on Monday. “One of the most difficult things for players themselves is they can’t play at all when they are freshmen to be able to gain a redshirt year. They all want to play, this would give them the opportunity to play some which would obviously enhance their development to some degree.”

Another thing to consider is the recent trend of players skipping out on bowl games in fear they might suffer an injury heading into the NFL Draft. Say Scarbrough's monster numbers carry over into next season and propel him as a possible first-round draft pick. If he were to follow the footsteps of LSU running back Leonard Fournette or Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, who did not play in their respective bowl games, it’d certainly help Alabama if it had a back it could instantly plug into its rotation at no cost.

* Sunday Pulpit: Is it time to rethink the way we drink at SEC games?

Regardless of whether or not the rule passes, it’s highly unlikely anything would go into effect until 2018 at the earliest. That means all this talk is strictly hypothetical — so please keep this column between us and away from Saban.

With that said, how about another hypothetical? What if the NCAA eliminated the redshirt year altogether and just allowed players five years to play five full seasons? Saban was also asked that on Monday. After reiterating his disdain for the hypothetical, the head coach divulged more of his thoughts on the matter.

“There are so many guys going out early for the draft, the philosophy of redshirting guys for their developmental purposes has really changed quite a bit,” Saban said. “I don’t think the rule has ever changed with that, so to allow a guy to play to some degree, I don’t really know what the right degree is. I don’t know if it’s four games. I don’t know if it’s the same as the injury rules, half the games in the first half of the season.

"I like the four-game thing better. Hypothetically, I don’t know if just having five years to play would be a great thing... I haven’t thought about it enough to know whether it's something I would be for or not.”

Whatever version you fancy, change seems to not only be imminent but also warranted.

Former Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey became the first Tide player taken in this year’s NFL Draft when he was selected with the No. 16 pick overall by the Baltimore Ravens. Humphrey played just two seasons with Alabama after redshirting his first year on campus. While the lack of experience didn’t hurt Humphrey, a few extra games during his first year would have certainly been beneficial to both him and Alabama.

Who knows, maybe Alabama plays Humphrey during the 2015 Sugar Bowl against Ohio State. Could freshman Humphrey have made a difference against a Buckeyes team that torched the Tide for 42 points and 537 yards? Another hypothetical, sure, but one that we will never know now since the Tide was compelled to needlessly redshirt him.

Alabama will undoubtedly have to make a similar decision this year and will have to continue doing so until legislation is changed. That will lead to some tough calls for programs and, unfortunately, tough breaks for young, promising athletes.