Kalen DeBoer on Alabama running backs: 'When they saw a hole today, they hit it'

New Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer has now completed his first spring game with the program, and eyes were on the offense to see how things would look under the offensive-minded coach.

One group that DeBoer himself was very happy with turned out to be the running backs, who he praised for how comfortable and explosive they seemed to be in the offense.

“In the backfield, the running backs, I thought they did a better job of when they saw a hole today, they hit it, especially early on,” Kalen DeBoer said. “There were some seams and they’re not dancing, which means they’re getting more and more comfortable with the schemes and trusting the offensive line.”

One of the problems with evaluating practice or a scrimmage is it’s hard to tell if one unit is doing well or the other one is doing poorly. For DeBoer, that was the case with how the running backs were able to break tackles during the spring game.

“There were a couple more tackles broken, which goes both ways. You want to see those tackles made by the defense, but there were more tackles broken early on in the scrimmage than what I’ve seen. We’ve been pretty sure with our tackling up until the early part of the scrimmage today, and then they responded and did a better job.”

Alabama currently has seven running backs listed on its roster, with several expected to contribute this season. Among the most anticipated Crimson Tide backs are sophomore Justice Haynes, junior Jam Miller, and redshirt freshman Richard Young.

Identifying which position Alabama should be worried about the most after spring

Following the spring game, Tim Watts of BamaOnLine shared the position group he thinks Alabama and Kalen DeBoer should be most concerned about.

“I think they want to have more experience in the secondary. They’ve got talent but, again, Domani Jackson has been on campus three or four months and he’s the oldest guy in that group basically. Malachi Moore is obviously there. I was talking corner. You’ve got to get some more experience,” Watts said.

“A lot of talent, they signed a huge class of freshmen. But, again, they’re freshmen, they’re coming in. You’re going to have to work through all the growing pains. I think defensive back is the one thing you look at. Wide receiver? I think you can get by with six guys. Offensive line and secondary? I don’t think you can.”