Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

College Football

Is this the best, most versatile running back room Nick Saban has had? A case can be made …

Cory Nightingale

By Cory Nightingale

Published:

In a season when Alabama is seemingly stacked at the running back position, its top backfield threat might not come from within or via some 5-star high school sensation ready to make an immediate splash.

The Crimson Tide’s best back may just have come from the transfer portal, from a neighboring state and another conference. It might just be junior multi-dimensional dynamo Jahmyr Gibbs, who piled up 1,800 all-purpose yards and 7 touchdowns last season at Georgia Tech and was named first-team All-ACC. He’s 5-10 and 200 pounds, and he has the ability to terrorize SEC defenses as a runner and receiver.

There have even been whispers among observers this spring and summer that Bryce Young might not be the only Heisman Trophy candidate who resides in the Bama backfield. The elusive Gibbs has the potential to be that good. He gave Tide fans an immediate sneak preview to what they’re getting this fall, ripping off a 75-yard touchdown run during the spring game on the way to being named A-Day MVP.

Gibbs can also be that speed merchant the Tide needs in its backfield in 2022. The departed Brian Robinson provided plenty of production last season with 1,343 yards and 14 touchdowns, but what he didn’t have was that home run speed that Gibbs possesses. The Dalton, Ga., native was showered with the ultimate praise before even playing an official game in Tuscaloosa.

“He has really been a very good addition to our team,” said Bama coach Nick Saban during spring practice. “He’s got great speed. He’s really a good receiver, good third-down back. He’s got great vision. He’s got really good burst out of a cut. I’m really, really impressed with what he’s been able to do. He’s smart. He picked up things. He’s an experienced player. He really does a good job of understanding what we’re trying to do and how we’re doing it, and that’s what experienced players can do.”

Gibbs’ versatility simply cannot be understated. In addition to his 746 rushing yards, he caught 36 balls for 470 yards out of the backfield and had 23 kickoff returns for 589 yards and 1 touchdown, so Saban can employ him as a special-teams weapon, too. Gibbs was named to the 2021 All-ACC team at three different positions, making first-team at all-purpose back, second-team as a return specialist and third-team as a running back. Tide fans will be introduced to Gibbs’ truckload of talent all over the field this fall.

While Gibbs will be on a mission to win over his new rabid fan base, junior Jase McClellan’s mission will be to prove that his moments of brilliance in 2020 can return in bunches this season after his 2021 campaign was cut short by an ACL injury in the fifth game of the season against Mississippi. The 5-11, 212-pound McClellan wasn’t ready to return yet in the A-Day Game this spring, so there’s got to be a curiosity surrounding what he can and can’t do once the real games start.

McClellan already had 3 receiving touchdowns by the time he was injured last season and was solidly the No. 2 running back behind Robinson on the depth chart. He had an emphatic breakout moment as a freshman in 2020 with an 80-yard run that was the Crimson Tide’s longest of the season, so everyone who follows the program with a long enough memory knows what McClellan is capable of. The big question is, what will McClellan be capable of coming off the serious injury?

Junior Roydell Williams fell victim to the same fate as McClellan later in the season, going down with a knee injury against New Mexico State. The 5-10, 212-pound Williams had 284 rushing yards when he suffered the season-ending injury, including a 100-yard game against Southern Mississippi, so he was a known commodity by the time he went down later in the season. For that reason, Williams’ potential for 2022 is another mystery for Tide fans, as like McClellan he missed the A-Day Game while rehabbing from injury.

Sticking with the comeback theme, there is the curious study of redshirt junior Trey Sanders, who has pretty much been through it all in Tuscaloosa. The 6-foot, 214-pound former 5-star recruit had his freshman season ruined by a Lisfranc injury in his foot. Then there was the car accident in 2020 in which he sustained multiple fractures. There was doubt about whether he’d play football again, but after a long road of rehab Sanders finally scored his first collegiate touchdown in last year’s season-opening victory against Miami.

With the injuries to McClellan and Williams, Sanders suddenly had a shot to make a huge impact and he did just that, rushing for 314 yards and 2 touchdowns as Robinson’s primary backup. With health finally on his side, the resilient Sanders will be that much more motivated to show that 2021 was only the start of his rebirth. His big challenge now will be to stand out among a talented and crowded running back room in Tuscaloosa.

Gibbs, McClellan, Williams and Sanders give the Tide a formidable, deep quartet on the 2022 depth chart, past injuries and all, but Bama’s wealth of backfield talent doesn’t end there. True freshmen Emmanuel Henderson and Jamarion Miller arrive this season with star potential to go with their 4-star ratings.

The 6-1, 185-pound Henderson was an in-state standout at Geneva County High School in Hartford and chose Tuscaloosa over Auburn, Georgia and Clemson. That alone should ingratiate him with the fan base. So should his pure athleticism, as Henderson was a three-sport phenom at Geneva who also starred in basketball and track. Henderson might also be able to contribute right away as a receiver and return specialist.

Miller was an early enrollee out of Tyler Legacy High School in Texas, where he piled up a school-record 4,688 yards to go with 47 touchdowns in 4 seasons. Like Henderson, Miller is also versatile, posting 380 receiving yards as a senior at Tyler. The 5-10, 201-pound Miller could’ve stayed in-state, but he said no to Austin and chose Bama over Texas. He can also fly, having posted a 10.71 in the 100-yard dash as a junior.

Henderson and Miller, big-time high school accolades and all, might have to wait their turn a lot in 2022, considering Bama’s wealth at the position. Then again, as 2021 showed, a few injuries can change the whole picture, as well as the depth chart.

Cory Nightingale

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.

You might also like...

2025 RANKINGS

presented by rankings