With Running Back Woes, Which Position Needs to Carry Tide’s Offense?

Over the past couple of weeks, Alabama has had some issues at the running back position: an ACL injury for freshman Bo Scarbrough and a dismissal of Tyren Jones following his arrest for marijuana possession.

Also, another thing to watch in the Bama backfield is the recovery and natural regression of Kenyan Drake, who suffered a devastating leg injury last season against the Ole Miss Rebels.

With these problems at the running back position, that means Nick Saban and company have to figure out a way to find production from other groups on the offensive side of the ball.

One could say that the production could come from the wide receiver corps, but that group has also taken a hit from the injury bug. Sophomore Cam Sims, one of the players who has been speculated to be one of the starters when the season starts, is out now with a knee injury. His size and strength would be a big target for whoever the quarterback is going to be this fall, but until he comes back, Alabama will rely on the smaller, quicker players out wide in Chris Black, ArDarius Stewart and Robert Foster.

Speaking of quarterbacks, that is also one position that could step up and produce... assuming we know who the quarterback is going to be. No one could have predicted the production from Blake Sims last season, but relying on Lane Kiffin to pull the same kind of magic trick this year may not work out like that again. Sims was athletic enough to get out of the pocket and make plays when needed (and having All-World receiver Amari Cooper always helps), and no quarterback on the current roster is as athletic as Sims was.

Last year's transfer Jake Coker is the default leader in the clubhouse, but we all remember what happened last year when we all but awarded him the job before a single practice happened. Alec Morris, Cooper Bateman, and David Cornwell are all good options, but as you probably know, there is limited experience under center, so Tide fans may need to pull back on the expectations of the quarterback production next season.

So if the running backs, wide receivers, and quarterbacks are limited with playmakers, does that mean the tight ends could solidify the offense?

We all know O.J. Howard. The guy is arguably the biggest mismatch in all of college football. If you split him out wide, there's no corner in college football that can cover his size (6'6" 242 lbs). If you line him up in the slot or even down with the offensive tackle, there's definitely no safety who can keep up with his size and speed, nor can a linebacker keep up with him.

Another big time tight end that Alabama has at its disposal is senior Ty Flournoy-Smith. He and Howard are roughly the same size, but Flournoy-Smith is two or three inches shorter. However, they both are solid options blocking for the running game, and both are capable of catching some balls down the seam or across the middle.

Senior Michael Nysewander is also a name that you should know at the tight end position, as Nysewander was granted an athletic scholarship this spring. He saw limited action last season, but may could see significant playing time should (heaven forbid) the injury bug strike the tight ends.