Alabama senior RB Trey Sanders enters the transfer portal
No, Trey Sanders never won a Heisman Trophy at Alabama, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t beloved by its fans. Ask any fan of the Crimson Tide, and they’re likely to tell you that they’re pulling for the former five-star talent out of IMG Academy. I’d guess that belief holds true even after today’s news.
On Tuesday, On3’s Matt Zenitz broke the news that Sanders has entered his name into the transfer portal.
For anyone who has kept up with the senior running back, Tuesday’s news shouldn’t come as a surprise. He had only seen 33 snaps on offense in five games, which included six this past Saturday against Austin Peay. Prior to that, he hadn’t see any opportunities since Week 5 against Arkansas.
Sanders’ story is an unfortunate one.
Coming out of high school in 2019, he was a five-star recruit who the On3 Consensus rankings had as the No. 10 player nationally, top running back and No. 3 player from the state of Florida. He was expected to be a huge part of Alabama’s backfield for years to come, but a foot injury during his freshman year and a car accident in his second season both took a significant toll on his body.
A lot of us knew something had to give as far as Alabama’s running back room.
Sure, it’s possible — likely, even — that junior Jahmyr Gibbs will leave early for the NFL, but it’s still a loaded unit for 2023. Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams are expected to be back after being involved this season. Then there’s Jamarion Miller, the highly-touted freshman who already seems ready to play SEC football.
That’s already a deep group, but there’s more.
Right now, Alabama has two of the top three running backs committed in its current recruiting class. Justice Haynes is a five-star rated as the No. 27 player nationally and top running back, according to the 2023 On3 Consensus. Meanwhile, Richard Young is also a five-star who’s rated as the No. 3 running back and No. 29 player overall.
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That means there are still five former top-100 prospects at that position expected to be on Alabama’s roster in 2023. Three of those were rated amongst the top-50 players, which is an impressive amount of talent.
During his four seasons at Alabama, Sanders touched the ball 125 times. That includes 116 carries and nine receptions. He turned those career opportunities into 594 total yards (528 rushing, 66 receiving) and three rushing touchdowns, including 82 yards and a score in 2022.
His biggest contribution came in 2021, however. After injuries ravaged Alabama”s backfield, he became the No. 2 back behind Brian Robinson Jr. It was pretty remarkable to watch him have so much success, as he still wasn’t 100% after his car accident in 2020. He finished the year with 314 yards rushing, 55 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 78 touches.
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