COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2014
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THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS
Full stable T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake return at running back and sophmore sensation Derrick Henry adds depth
running back
Returning starter: T.J. Yeldon Starter lost: None
Quotable “During the Oklahoma game, I could tell that they didn’t want to tackle me.” u — Derrick Henry
Newcomer to watch Technically, there isn’t a newcomer since touted freshman Bo Scarborough did not qualify academically, but one could list Altee Tenpenny and Tyren Jones here. Tenpenny played on special teams last season, but despite stellar prep reputations, neither have managed to break through the logjam of talent in front of them.
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Top candidates
staff photo | robert sutton
Where does this list even begin? T.J. Yeldon is probably as good a starting point as any, since he is an All-SEC performer who gained 1,235 yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry last year as a sophomore. He combines speed and elusiveness in such a quietly efficient way that Alabama fans seem to take him for granted at times. Alabama head coach Nick Saban calls him “sort of a quiet guy.” The one knock on Yeldon has been ball security, which he says he has been “working on” in this offseason. But the position goes far deeper with sophomore Derrick Henry, Alabama’s sensational (and almost sole) bright spot in the Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma, and junior speedster Kenyan Drake, an impact player whenever he manages to stay out of Saban’s doghouse. Henry gained 384 yards last season — on just 36 carries, an average of more than 10 yard per attempt. Drake didn’t quite match that figure, but was impressive, gaining 684 yards on 92 carries. Any of the three would probably start at most major football schools. Alabama’s problem, if you call it that, will be finding an equitable way to share the workload. The change of pace in the backfield is Jalston Fowler, an inside bruiser and blocker who Saban calls “a success story” as he has gradually overcome the effects of a 2012 knee injury.
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Outlook
One positive aspect about having the number of backs Alabama has is no one gets overworked. Derrick Henry, for instance, had just 36 carries, which should mean he is fresh and ready to go — especially after carrying the ball a staggering 462 times as a high school senior.
This isn’t the first time Alabama has had more than one talented back. The wishbone teams of the 1970s were loaded, as was the Bobby Humphrey/Gene Jelks/Murry Hill team in 1985 and the Mark Ingram/Trent Richardson/Eddie Lacy tandem in 2009-10. But it is tough to remember a unit with this many potential home run hitters available to carry the ball.
compiled by cecil hurt
You need to know Running backs do more than run. Just to give opposing defensive coordinators more to worry about, Nick Saban has talked about using Kenyan Drake, who he calls “a mismatch guy,” at various places on the field to create chances for him to be a receiving threat.