Nick Saban has high hopes for Alabama RBs Jam Miller, Justice Haynes

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama’s running back room, especially the depth at the position, is one of the strengths of the Crimson Tide’s team. But through the first three games of the season, the offense has primarily used two backs – seniors Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams.

Williams leads the team in rushing yards with 177 and was helped by a 129-yard performance in the victory over South Florida this past weekend. McClellan has the most carries with 35 – five more than Williams’ 30 – and has turned them into 158 yards. Both have scored one touchdown apiece after three games and have seen over 55 percent of the offense’s carries.

But Alabama has some talented players behind the proven veterans, like Jam Miller, who is in his second year in the program, and true freshman Justice Haynes, who was a star during the spring as an early enrollee. Both running backs saw carries in the season opener against Middle Tennessee but have combined for three touches since then, with Miller being responsible for all three and Haynes not even seeing the field on special teams against Texas.

With the Tide (2-1) beginning SEC play this Saturday against Ole Miss (2:30 p.m. CT on CBS), could Alabama dip into its running back reserves as it looks to establish a rushing attack?

“I hope so,” head coach Nick Saban said Wednesday. “I think Jase and Roydell have played very, very well, both guys. But we also have confidence in Jam and Justice, and I think both of those guys will contribute at some point in time in the season pretty significantly because they’re both really good players and I think they’re both ready to play.”

All five of Alabama’s scholarship running backs saw carries in the season-opening win against MTSU, but since then, only McClellan, Williams and Miller have touched the ball. Haynes, who dealt with a quad contusion in the preseason and missed 3-4 days of practice and a scrimmage, didn’t play against the Longhorns and only suited up on special teams in the win at USF. Fellow freshman Richard Young only saw the field in the fourth quarter in Week 1.

Williams has been in their shoes, playing behind seniors Najee Harris and Brian Robinson in his first year in the program in 2020. The now-senior shared his advice for the true freshmen.

“Keep competing,” Williams said. “When we go out each and every Tuesday, Wednesday – those are our more physical days – compete. Those guys are great guys. They do the right things on and off the field, school work. Everything is all combined together. 

“I tell them whenever their time comes, it comes. It doesn’t matter who is on the field, those guys can go out and play right now if they have to, and they know what to do.”

Ahead of the Ole Miss game, Alabama has played 16 true freshmen from its 2023 signing class, which was ranked No. 1 nationally by the On3 Industry Rankings. On Wednesday, Saban was asked about the Tide’s freshman usage as it compares to 2022 (19 in three games).

“I think last year we had two out of three games where we had an opportunity to play a lot of players,” Saban said. “This year, we’ve only had one opportunity to do that. I do think we have two freshmen starting. I don’t know how that compares to how many guys we had in the past. I don’t know what the significance of that is. 

“If we don’t have to play freshmen before they’re ready to play, I think that’s probably a good thing for our team. But I also like to see the growth of the young players as freshmen so that when they do get an opportunity to play they’ll be able to take advantage of it.”

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