TIDE OFFENSE: Gibbs moves quickly up the depth chart to earn starting role
New Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs will make a historic start for the Tide this Saturday against Utah St. (Courtesy Unv. Alabama Media Relations)
By TIM GAYLE
Alabama’s first-week press conference always draws more interest than any other as the Crimson Tide’s depth chart is unveiled for the first time.
No matter the competition -- this week, it is 41.5-point underdog Utah State -- most of the questions directed at head coach Nick Saban involve the placement of the players on the depth chart.
And while Saban always discusses the open competition at each position, the top returning player at each position -- for example, fifth-year senior Jaylen Moody at ‘will’ linebacker -- almost always winds up on top of the depth chart the following season.
That’s what made the choice of Jahmyr Gibbs as the starting tailback a historic one.
Last year’s Alabama team featured fifth-year senior Brian Robinson, sophomores Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams, Trey Sanders and true freshman Camar Wheaton. A year later, Robinson is in the National Football League with the Washington Commanders and Wheaton transferred to Southern Methodist. McClellan, the top backup a year ago, started one game and played in five before suffering a season-ending knee injury, Williams played in 10 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury and Sanders played in 13 games as he continued to regain the form he had before a serious automobile accident in 2020.
It’s sort of a rite of passage in the Alabama running back room. The leading tailback returning from the year before is awarded the starting position the following year, provided they don’t apply for early entry in the National Football League draft as Glen Coffee, Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry did following their junior seasons.
Gibbs will break that mold. He will become only the second Crimson Tide running back under Saban to jump ahead of the top returning backs. The other, Coffee in 2008, actually started the final two games of 2007 as Terry Grant battled nagging injuries, so that decision wasn’t a big surprise.
Maybe this shouldn’t come as a surprise, either. While Sanders had more playing time than the others in support of Robinson and McClellan would have been the top back if not for injuries, Gibbs had 143 carries (more than Sanders, McClellan and Williams combined) in 2021 as a sophomore at Georgia Tech and roughly the same amount of yards as the other three combined. Gibbs carried the ball 143 times for 746 yards, compared to Sanders’ 309 yards on 70 carries.
“It’s all about competition every day,” McClellan said. “If we want to be a great running back room, we’ve all got to work together, pushing ourselves every day in practice.”
If you’re wondering how Saban chose Gibbs, perhaps a few words from his starting defensive players did the trick.
“He’s different,” nose tackle DJ Dale said. “Very dynamic, can do anything -- run the ball, catch the ball. He’s shifty. He’s a very dynamic piece to the offense and I’m glad we have him.”
“So fast, so elusive, gets in and out of his cuts so quick,” inside linebacker Henry To’o To’o added. “I’ve never guarded a back like him before. Being able to see that, for me, has been so helpful.”
Fans may not notice a lot of difference between Gibbs and McClellan, the top two running backs on the depth chart, although Gibbs draws a lot of praise for his speed and is therefore listed as the featured kickoff returner as well.
“He’s definitely electric,” said offensive lineman Kendall Randolph. “He plays fast, has some quick feet. He can make good cuts. Being able to block for him is just a huge honor, first and foremost, because he’s a great athlete. We’re going to keep doing what we can do to get him open so he can be successful.”
Another key to Gibbs’ quick adjustment to Alabama is his familiarity with Crimson Tide running backs coach Robert Gillespie, who had recruited Gibbs while at North Carolina.
“I’ve known Coach ‘G’ since high school because he recruited me when he was at UNC, so we kind of already had a little relationship,” Gibbs said. “So it wasn’t like I was meeting a stranger, I already knew him. But the running back room, those boys are cool, I like them a lot.”
Gibbs said he believes his biggest strength “is probably catching out of the backfield. That’s what the NFL likes so I try to do my best to model my game after Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, Aaron Jones, players like that who can catch out of the backfield.”
After going through a late-season stretch last year where Robinson was battling nagging injuries and Sanders was the only available backup, Saban is happy to have a talented running back room back at full strength.
“We feel good about the running back position,” he said. “There’s experience there, even though two of the first four guys are coming off of injuries. They don't seem to be having any issues or problems and have had really good fall camps. Jahmyr has been a really positive addition to the offense in terms of what he gives us. So I think we have five guys there that can play winning football and we’re going to continue to try to develop all of those guys. Obviously, based on what happened last year, this is a position where it’s good to have a lot of depth.”
TOP RETURNING TAILBACK FROM: STARTING TAILBACK IN:
2006 -- Jimmy Johns (So.) 2007 -- Terry Grant
2007 -- Terry Grant (Fr.) 2008 -- Glen Coffee
2008 -- Mark Ingram (Fr.) 2009 -- Mark Ingram
2009 -- Mark Ingram (So.) 2010 -- Mark Ingram
2010 -- Trent Richardson (So.) 2011 -- Trent Richardson
2011 -- Eddie Lacy (So.) 2012 -- Eddie Lacy
2012 -- T.J. Yeldon (Fr.) 2013 -- T.J. Yeldon
2013 -- T.J. Yeldon (So.) 2014 -- T.J. Yeldon
2014 -- Derrick Henry (So.) 2015 -- Derrick Henry
2015 -- Damien Harris (Fr.) 2016 -- Damien Harris
2016 -- Damien Harris (So.) 2017 -- Damien Harris
2017 -- Damien Harris (Jr.) 2018 -- Damien Harris
2018 -- Nagee Harris (So.) 2019 -- Nagee Harris
2019 -- Nagee Harris (Jr.) 2020 -- Nagee Harris
2020 -- Brian Robinson (Sr.) 2021 -- Brian Robinson
2021 -- Trey Sanders (So.) 2022 -- Jahmyr Gibbs