Alabama has always been known for having a good group of running backs.
Alabama has signed at least one 4-star or higher ranked running back every year going all the way back to 2008 when they signed future Heisman trophy winner, Mark Ingram. Just because a player has a high ranking doesn’t always mean they will pan out at Alabama.
First let’s take a moment to recognize some of the former greats. A player who made a name for himself not only at Alabama, but with the Seattle Seahawks, it is Shaun Alexander. Alexander is the current career rushing yard’s record holder at Alabama, and is known to be one of the best prospects to ever come out of the state of Kentucky.
Coming in at second on the career rushing yards list is Bobby Humphrey. Humphrey’s name is once again popular at Alabama, but not due to him. There is a new Humphrey in town, his son Marlon, who was one of the top-ranked prospects in the state of Alabama in 2014. More known great running backs are Mark Ingram Jr., Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon. A crazy statistic is Ingram, Richardson, and Lacy were all on the roster at the same time at one point, and all three were finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Mark Ingram ended up winning that year.
So the question is who is up next in the line of great running backs? Well everyone has heard of Derrick Henry since his freshmen year. Henry has been really productive in his two years playing the back-up man. With this being his first year as the starter, can Henry capitalize and contest for the Doak Walker award? This award is presented to college football’s best running back in the nation. Another name we all know is Kenyan Drake, who was having a great start to the season last year before his leg was broken during the Ole Miss game. Drake says his leg is back 100 percent, and is looked at with high expectations as well as Henry.
Alabama will be awfully thin at the running back position this year due to an injury, a dismissal, and an academic departure. The injury was true freshmen Bo Scarbrough, who was poised to be a huge addition to Alabama before he tore his ACL in spring football. It is possible Scarbrough could return and play at some point this season, but I doubt coach Saban will burn the redshirt unless he feels like he could really improve the offense. I do believe in the next few years people will be walking around with number nine jerseys with “Scarbrough” on the back.
Another running back on the roster is number five, Ronnie Clark. In high school Clark played quarterback, running back and safety. The original plan for Clark was to play safety, where he played most of last year before getting injured in practice. He became healthy again just before spring practice, and spent that entire spring playing running back, where he took several snaps in the A-day game.
These two guys are really talented, but the one with the biggest ceiling and highest odds to have a breakout season is true freshmen Damien Harris. Harris was the number one running back in the recruiting class of 2015. Harris comes from Berea, Kentucky. On the day of his commitment to Alabama he was personally congratulated by Kentucky native, Shaun Alexander, who wished him luck at Alabama. Harris has incredible speed, agility, vision and lower body power. He reminds me a lot of Mark Ingram, in his ability to speed up and turn on a dime, which is extremely impressive. He is also not someone you want be in front of when he is hitting the hole. So mark my words, and many other writers who follow Alabama football, when I say Number 34 Damien Harris' coming out party could look a lot like Mark Ingram’s in 2008 against Clemson. The following year he won the Heisman. Don't believe me? See for yourself.
In the future, Alabama will continue to have great running backs. On July 20th Alabama landed a commitment in the 2016 recruiting class from the number three running back in the country, B.J. Emmons. He is from North Carolina, and comes in at 5-foot 10-inches and is 232 lbs. B.J has pretty impressive highlights, and still has another year of high school football.
In the 2017 graduating class, Alabama currently has the number one ranked running back in the country, Najee Harris. He will have two more years of high school ball, but he has more than impressed everyone in every under-classmen camp he has attended so far. The future looks bright for Alabama at the running back position. Let’s see if running back-U can continue to crank out the greats.
