Jahmyr Gibbs explains why he decided to play in Sugar Bowl for Alabama

Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs is ready for the Sugar Bowl and he made it clear. With opt-outs all over the place as players prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft, Gibbs wanted to make sure he was on the field with his Crimson Tide teammates. Quarterback Bryce Young and linebacker Will Anderson were the other stars who remained with the team for the Sugar Bowl.

“I think I was always gonna play,” Gibbs said. “I’ve never been in (a bowl game) and I wanted to experience that.”

Gibbs was also asked how excited he was to be playing in his first bowl game. The star running back did not make the postseason while with Georgia Tech.

“Very exciting,” Gibbs said. “I’ve never been in one, so yeah, I’m just very excited to be in one.”

Gibbs suffered an ankle injury in November but said it was nothing to worry about ahead of the matchup with Kansas State.

“I’m straight,” he said. “I’ll be good.”

Alabama, while 10-2 this year, missed out on the College Football Playoff and the SEC Championship Game. The losses came on the road to Tennessee and LSU (the West division’s representative in the title game).

“It hasn’t gone as we wanted to this season,” Gibbs said. “So we’re going to try and finish off this season right with a win.”

Gibbs did not crack 1,000 yards on the ground this year, but had a career season with the Crimson Tide. In 11 games this year, Gibbs has 136 carries for 850 yards, seven touchdowns, 6.3 yards per carry, 42 catches, 378 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Gibbs was a four-star prospect out of Dalton (G.A.) High, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 13 overall prospect in the class, the No. 9 running back in the class and the No. 79 overall prospect in the class.

The Sugar Bowl will also serve as the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

“We’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Kansas State. They play with toughness, they’re very well coached,” head coach Nick Saban said. “They’re a very disciplined team. They’re ball-hawkers, they attack the ball – I had a lot of respect for coach Snyder when he was there and the great job he did for many, many years. Chris has certainly picked up and built what is turned out to be an outstanding team for this year.”

No. 5 Alabama (10-2) takes on No. 9 Kansas State (10-3) in the Sugar Bowl Dec. 31 at 12:00 p.m. ET.