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Alabama football: Jase McClellan headlines running backs room that could be best in nation
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The brief but mesmerizing Bryce Young Era is over. He plays for the Carolina Panthers now.
And that means his nimble feet and slingshot arm won’t be around to bail out the Alabama offense this fall.
And that also means that no matter who emerges from the stifling August Tuscaloosa heat with the starting quarterback job — be it Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson or Tyler Buchner — there’s going to be more responsibility on the Crimson Tide running back room than there has been since, well, before Young took over T-Town in 2021.
That guy Mac Jones was pretty darned good in 2020, too, leading Bama to its 6th national championship under Nick Saban with a season for the ages (and the record books).
But the problem is, in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of Alabama football, that there have been no national titles since that COVID-shortened season. And that consternation combined with Young’s departure have created a sense of urgency in fall camp that hasn’t been seen since Saban started rattling off national crowns in 2009.
And no matter what the ceiling truly is for Milroe, Simpson or Buchner, it’s not logical to think that it’s high enough to prevent Jase McClellan from being the single most important individual on the Alabama offense in 2023. Because barring some offseason metamorphosis by any of the 3 noble young men vying to be Young’s successor, that is exactly what McClellan stands to be this fall.
The senior from Texas has never even been the No. 1 running back option in Tuscaloosa. But his ability to stick around long enough and outlast Young and Jahmyr Gibbs has most likely thrust him into not only that elusive top running back option but also the top option in the entire offense.
That’s a massive statement that goes with the proverbial massive shoes to fill. But it’s just the reality of the situation as the Crimson Tide also enter their 1st season under new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
So, to recap, there’s no more Young, there’s a new OC who’s about to dive into the treacherous SEC waters for the 1st time and, of course, there are the whispers that the Saban Dynasty might be teetering as Georgia threatens to take over as the New Alabama.
That’s a lot of pressure. And for now, on paper, a good slice of that pressure is going to fall on McClellan.
Is he ready for it?
The Maxwell Football Club thinks so.
Last week, it released the preseason watch list for its prestigious annual award, and McClellan was on it. This was a huge development, because this is an award that since 1937 has been given to the best player in college football. In many years, the winner of the Maxwell is the winner of the Heisman Trophy — case in point last year, when USC quarterback Caleb Williams earned the Heisman-Maxwell double dip.
So this is as honorable a preseason watch list as you can find yourself on before even clocking in for fall camp. The Maxwell folks don’t play around with names, and they don’t pick players from certain powerhouses, like Alabama, just to have a player from Alabama on their watch list. If you are 1 of the fortunate ones to end up on that list, as McClellan was, it means you’re either already a star or the Maxwell Football Club thinks you are trending toward collegiate stardom.
Count McClellan among the latter category, and here’s why: For as much promise as the 4-star product from Aledo, Texas, came to Tuscaloosa with in 2020, he has never quite blossomed into the standout many at Alabama envisioned. A lot of it hasn’t been his fault, as he has patiently waited his turn in the shadows as Najee Harris (2020), Brian Robinson Jr. (2021) and Gibbs (2022) got the backfield headlines. McClellan has never been given the reins, but you can also argue he has never quite taken them, either.
In 2023, he’s got them. The phrase “now or never” has never been more appropriate. And that Maxwell preseason honor is really based on what they think he has the potential to do now that he’s finally The Guy, because his career highs in rushing yards (655) and touchdowns (7) are pedestrian when you consider the prestige of the Maxwell Award and even considering McClellan for the Heisman come early December.
But all the ingredients for a monster season might, at long last, be coming together for McClellan, with his savvy, patience, hunger and burgeoning talent ready to explode just as those aforementioned Bama stars of the previous 3 years have said goodbye. Combine all that with the fact that McClellan’s touches, both in the running and passing game (he had 14 catches, 3 of them for TDs in 2022), should grow astronomically this fall, and you have the potential for a quantum leap from pedestrian to elite.
The Maxwell Club thinks he’s ready, McClellan believes he’s ready and an anxious fan base is praying he’s ready.
“It’s what I’ve worked for, what I’ve prepared for and it’s what I’m ready for,” said McClellan during the early days of fall practice. “Being the guy you can lean on — I’m ready for it.”
There were subtle signs he was “ready for it” in 2022, and then the not-so-subtle sign during Bama’s Week 2 escape act in Austin, when McClellan burst through the line and went untouched on an 81-yard touchdown gallop. It was scintillating. It was electrifying. And it was on national television, in the sexy noon FOX time slot.
As it turns out, it didn’t springboard McClellan into a monster junior season, just a good one. Gibbs ended up getting most of the glamour in his 1st and only season in Tuscaloosa. And once again, the 5-11, 212-pound McClellan slid not to the back of the line but away from the front of it. Once again, he was a complementary running back and not “the” running back.
If the belief that waiting your turn patiently ultimately has its rewards, and if the Maxwell Club college football gurus are indeed right, then that will finally change in 2023. And it will fall on McClellan to take some of the pressure off Young’s successor.
Unless … unless things don’t quite go as planned, as is often the case in football and life in general, and McClellan — god forbid — gets injured or is outdone by 1 of Bama’s other backs in an extremely talented stable of them.
The former storyline wouldn’t be McClellan’s fault, obviously, and it would be a total cruel twist of irony, considering how hard McClellan has worked to finally get his true opportunity and how long he has waited for it. The latter scenario, though? It’s a very good problem for Saban to have in 2023 — the possibility of a dominant running game that comes at defenses in waves and with different names. And it’s a perfect problem to potentially have because the Tide are likely going to lean on their backs more this fall than they have in a while.
McClellan is merely the headliner of a potentially punishing group of backs. And not only doesn’t he mind the fierce competition behind him on the depth chart — he welcomes it, especially if it’s going to make the transition at quarterback that much easier to overcome and victories a little easier to come by.
Saban has reportedly said several times already, even in the early days of fall camp, that assuming his running backs stay healthy, he would put his running backs room up against any in the country. And we all know that Saban doesn’t dish out praise easily, especially before the season even starts and we see what this group of backs can really produce.
He must see something very real, and he must know something that the SEC and the nation might be finding out in the months ahead.
He must truly believe that behind McClellan, there is talent waiting to explode.
Maybe he thinks that senior Roydell Williams, the in-state product from Hueytown who has been lying in the weeds for years like McClellan, is finally going to make it count in 2023 after combining for 534 yards and 5 touchdowns over the past 2 seasons. Like McClellan, Williams has contributed modestly but mostly watched over the past 3 years. And his mere yearn to finally get consistent touches, never mind his talent alone, should make you think that Williams will shatter his previous career-high numbers.
What about Jam Miller? Besides having the perfect name to complement the bruising running back that he is, Miller got just enough of a taste of the field in 2022 to show his big-time potential without getting enough touches to be on everybody’s radar going into 2023. But when the sophomore from Tyler, Texas, did touch the ball in his 1st fall in Tuscaloosa, he made it happen, even if it was largely in garbage time. Miller carried it 33 times for 223 yards, nearly a 7-yard-per-carry clip, and added 2 touchdowns.
One of those 33 carries went for 40 yards against Vanderbilt, and another went for 38 yards in the Sugar Bowl win over Kansas State, so Miller showed electrifying glimpses but without the pressure of doing it in close games. This fall, barring injury, we should see Miller in way more meaningful moments, and we’ll truly find out if the performances match the cool name.
Speaking of Crimson Tide names right out of central casting, we give you Justice Haynes, the 4-star stud that Saban plucked out of Georgia’s grasp. Haynes is from Buford, Ga., about a one-hour drive from Athens, but he chose the Tide over the Dawgs after taking official visits to Georgia, Florida and Ohio State. Getting Haynes was a pretty sizable off-field victory for Saban during a period when Kirby Smart has owned the on-field wins (and national titles).
How will Haynes translate on the field, where the games actually count? We don’t know yet, of course. But the ridiculous hype is all there, and if it’s truly real then Alabama might have its next superstar running back, the kind who don’t come along very often. Think recent Tide running backs who’ve walked away with Heisman hardware.
And think back to A-Day in April, when Haynes wowed the fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium by scoring 3 touchdowns to go along with his 10 carries (the most for any running back) and 4 catches for 40 yards. Yes, of course it was “just the spring game,” but that’s all we have to go on for now with Haynes, the only time in crimson and white that Haynes has lined up where there has been a scoreboard involved.
Haynes aced the spring exam. In 3 weeks, the real test arrives, and it’ll last 3 months, from roughly Labor Day to roughly Thanksgiving. And if Haynes is indeed good enough and Alabama is fortunate enough, he’ll have a chance to play in his 1st SEC Championship Game and, just maybe, a College Football Playoff.
But wait.
Incredibly, Haynes might not be Alabama’s only freshman running back sensation in 2023. While Haynes was a spring sensation, Richard Young is a 5-star summer enrollee from Lehigh Acres, Fla., who just happened to be ESPN’s No. 1-rated running back in the 2023 class.
The 5-11, 200-pound Young was hailed for being a physical runner in high school, but he also has a track background that speaks to his personal-best 10.81 time in the 100-meter dash. And he arrives in T-Town with the reputation for being a strong receiver out of the backfield.
Like Haynes, Young chose Alabama over Georgia, and he also took official visits to Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Oregon. The mere presence of Haynes and Young should leave Bama’s running backs room in excellent shape for years to come.
But, of course, an anxious and impatient fan base isn’t worried right now about the years to come.
They’re worried about this year, getting back to the Playoff and preventing a certain 3-peat from that school in the neighboring state.
With a new and unproven quarterback — whoever it is — having an elite group of running backs to unleash in September is a good place to start.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
