TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football is going to look different in a lot of ways in 2024. With Kalen DeBoer now patrolling the sideline instead of Nick Saban, that alone would be enough difference for some, but the actual on-field product will look vastly different as well.
DeBoer is bringing with him a high-powered offensive system that helped him propel Washington to the national championship game last season, as well as send quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
The Huskies ranked in the top-15 in all of college football in yards per game and points per game, and ranked first in the sport in pass yards per game. The quarterback is the center of DeBoer’s system, and when you add dynamic receivers on the outside, like Washington’s Rome Odunze last season, you get a passing offense that totaled over 5,000 yards for the season.
Obviously, returning Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and Alabama’s weapons on the outside will be huge beneficiaries from this new system, but where does that leave the Crimson Tide running backs?
After spring practice on Friday of last week, select players and coaches from the offensive side of the ball were made available to the media, and they discussed the role running backs will play in this new offense.
“We’re going to ask them to do different things, trying to find out what they do best,” Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said. “But certainly protecting the football, running the ball, pass protection, catching out of the backfield. It’s a group that can do all those things.”
“We’ve run a lot more routes, installed a lot more routes now,” sophomore running back Justice Haynes said. “Which is really good, you get to showcase your talent in all aspects of the game and be a complete back, which I love.”
Haynes, is oddly enough one of the most experienced players returning in this Alabama backfield. Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams, the top two backs on last years team, have left for either the NFL or the transfer portal, leaving Haynes and junior running back Jam Miller as the backs with the most snaps on the team.
Haynes was one of the breakout players in Alabama’s Rose Bowl loss to close the 2023 season. In a limited role, he averaged nearly eight yards per carry on the four carries he received in the game.
“They’re just putting us in the best position possible to make plays,” Haynes said of the offense. “Put the playmakers in position to make plays. I’m very confident in what they did at Washington. Coach Sheridan and Coach DeBoer at Washington had an explosive offense. Our offense is going to be explosive, we’ve got the guys here to do it and I’m looking forward to it.”
Alabama running backs coach Robert Gillespie, who was one of two Crimson Tide assistants that DeBoer retained from Saban’s 2023 staff, outlined the importance of versatility for running backs in this offense.
“If you look at the NFL game right now, man, it’s about touches. The better backs in the league right now are [Christian] McCaffery, Alvin Kamara, even Jahmyr [Gibbs],” Gillespie said. “The success he’s had this year, it’s not just about running the ball. You have to be a guy that they can trust your hands and put you in space. That’s what the game is. So just allowing these guys to be free, lining them up in empty, motion those guys in and out of the backfield, just trying to create some fun spots for them to be in.”
Gillespie’s retention as the leader of the running back room was important for a number of reasons, namely his pre-existing relationships with both his players and Sheridan himself.
“I’ve known Coach Gillespie for a handful of years now. We worked together at Tennessee. I thought the world of him then, and I feel the same way now. And his family is great too. One of his daughters has the same birthday as I do, so there’s a connection with our families there,” Sheridan said.
“But he’s as good as it gets. He’s demanding with his players. He creates great relationships with his players. His track record speaks for itself. And he’s been phenomenal. He has great relationships with not just his room, but you know, guys across different positions throughout the team. His experience here, his knowledge here, his ability to help us connect with some of the kids has been fantastic— not to mention, he’s a phenomenal football coach. I can’t think of any other… I mean, he’s phenomenal. He’s excellent.”
Haynes echoed Sheridan’s sentiment about Gillespie’s demanding attitude towards his players, and stated it as a positive.
“Coach G and I, we have a special relationship,” Haynes said. “It’s one that, he pushes me every day and I love that. He kind of reminds me of my dad in a way. Just staying one me, continuing to help me every way I can, to help me get where I want to go. It’s hard love. He loves you, but also, love is discipline sometimes. He’s going to rip into you a couple times, then he’s going to love you.”
With Gillespie’s retention, there’s some familiarity for a room that will have some different roles from play to play as it did under Tommy Rees in 2023. But as far as Gillespie is concerned, what is expects from his running backs doesn’t change no matter who is calling the plays, or what plays are being called.
“You run, you block, you catch, you play football,” Gillespie said. “I don’t think there’s a different responsibility for a guy. The first thing is just to do your job. There is nothing different that goes into playing running back at Alabama than it’s been in the past 80 years, even before Coach Saban. Football is football, and those guys have to continue to be able to do it all.”
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