No star in the Alabama football backfield? No worries, apparently | Goodbread

As the Alabama football running back torch has been passed from the hands of Mark Ingram to Trent Richardson, from T.J. Yeldon to Derrick Henry, from Damien Harris to Najee Harris, Crimson Tide fans have been all but assured that whoever the backfield star is, the understudy is a star in waiting.

The 2023 Alabama backfield won't carry that sort of pedigree, but it's becoming ever-clearer that coach Nick Saban likes what he sees at the position.

Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams are Alabama's most experienced backs, but have yet to establish themselves as star-quality SEC rushers. For various reasons, not the least of which has been injuries and the one-year splash that transfer Jahmyr Gibbs made last season as an explosive run-or-receive option, neither has commanded enough carries on a regular basis to do so. Last spring, Gibbs' eventual playing time took root while McClellan and Williams were withheld from drills while recovering from knee surgeries.

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This spring, it would appear, the party doesn't need a transfer.

According to at least one observer of Saturday's scrimmage, which was closed to media, an Alabama offensive line that's responded well to an emphasis on being more physical paved an impressive path in the running game. Following Alabama's first scrimmage, Saban said all four scholarship running backs − McClellan, Williams, Jam Miller and early-enrolling freshman Justice Haynes − have excelled in the spring and indicated that, barring injury, the position should be well-set. A week later, he offered this when asked about Haynes:

"He’s a really mature guy. He’s really smart. Nothing’s really too big for him," Saban said. "He goes out there and competes, and if you are just a guy sitting on a log watching, you would never know he’s a freshman.”

That's a mouthful for Saban, who isn't one to overstate praise, particularly when it comes to freshmen. But it's his remark the previous week about the strength of the running back room as a whole that bodes best for Alabama's 2023 offense. Alabama will be inexperienced at the quarterback position regardless of who wins the job, and nothing takes weight off the shoulders of a young quarterback better than a consistent ground game that maintains manageable third-down situations. It's the third-and-12s, by contrast, that force young quarterbacks into hero mode, and the mistakes that can often follow.

It will all sing harmony only if the Crimson Tide offensive line plays with the different edge it's been working toward. Promising sophomore guard Tyler Booker and veteran tackle J.C. Latham could be a fearsome and powerful right-side tandem.

Meanwhile, competition in the backfield is vibrant. A rotation is months from being set, but McClellan wields a significant edge in experience. He and Williams have another year to make their names as top SEC rushers; Miller and Haynes have more.

But for 2023, the position figures to be in capable hands.

For now, eight of them.

Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: No star in the Alabama football backfield? No worries, apparently