Spring Preview: Led by Brian Robinson Jr., Alabama Again has Strength in Numbers at Running Back
- Returning: Brian Robinson Jr., Trey Sanders, Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams and Kyle Edwards
- Early Enrollee/Arrived: Keilen Robinson
- Departed: Najee Harris
- Incoming: RB Camar Wheaton
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Every year, word seems to leak out of the Alabama football complex that there’s a player who has taken his game to another level during the offseason. It’s often someone who is in his final year of eligibility, and has the opportunity to really stand out.
In 2021, that player is Brian Robinson Jr.
The local product from Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa is the veteran presence in a deep and talented running back room, where the Crimson Tide might have the most competition heading into the fall.
Last season, he was second on the depth chart to Doak Walker Award winner Najee Harris, providing coaches with another power option out of the backfield. On 91 carries he tallied 483 rushing yards (5.3 average) and six touchdowns, to go with six receptions for 26 yards.
He knows the offense, could be crucial in helping out a young quarterback in the backfield, and has more than paid his dues. Robinson has even been a fixture on special teams for years, both as a kick returner and blocker.
While it would be surprising to see Robinson get the same kind of touches as Harris, who had 251 carries and 43 receptions, he has the inside lane on winning the starting job this spring.
After all, Robinson even has “Striving For Greatness” as part of his Twitter profile.
Meanwhile, new running backs coach Robert Gillespie is going to have a difficult time coming up with a pecking order as Alabama has a very strong group this season.
Sophomore Jase McClellan was third in team rushing in 2020, with 245 yards on 23 carries, giving him an average of 10.7 yards per carry.
Sophomore Roydell Williams saw action in eight games as a true freshman, but that was more than Kyle Edwards, who going into his sophomore season has yet to get into a game.
Keilen Robinson didn’t play with the Crimson Tide last season, but the junior participated in eight games in 2019, totaling 254 rushing yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns. He also saw time on kick returns.
Camar Wheaton, rated by some to be the top running back in the nation for the recruiting Class of 2021, won’t enroll until the summer.
The wild card in the group is Trey Sanders, who ranked among the top players in the nation across all positions in the recruiting Class of 2019, but has had a tough time contributing at Alabama.
He missed the 2019 season after suffering an injury during fall camp, and after returning last year was involved a car accident in Clarksville, Fla., while the team was on a bye. Sanders was in the car with his brother, Umstead, when someone hit their vehicle. Per WMBB News 13, he had to be life-flighted to Bay Medical with non life-threatening injuries.
“He got T-boned in his car,” Nick Saban disclosed on his radio show last November. “He wasn’t driving, but they were just pulling out to go across an intersection and he got hit on his side.
“We’re thankful. He’s got some very serious injuries, but everything has worked out very well. I think he’ll make a full recovery, but this is probably gonna be a several month-type thing.”
There’s been no official word from Alabama, but look for Sanders to be brought back slowly as there’s obviously no need for him to rush back.
That's a lot of talented players for Brian Robinson Jr. to fend off, even if he is a senior.
“Najee had a great year for us, and we don’t ever try to compare players and we’re not trying to replace Najee," Saban said. "But we do have some other players that I think can make contributions this year and their experience is probably gonna be helpful as their role is going to probably increase.
"But look, every team is different and I can’t predict the development of — everybody’s role is gonna be different and how players buy into doing the things that they need to do to accept that role and embrace that role is gonna be the key to how these people develop at these positions. But it’s the way it goes in college football. You lose 25 percent of your team every year. It creates lots of opportunities for other players, and how they take advantage of that, to a large degree, determines how successful they can be and how successful we can be."
2021 Crimson Tide Spring Practices
This is the first story in a series previewing Alabama’s spring football practices, which get under way March 19.
