Alabama Football: Tide roll Louisville behind Tua Tagovailoa’s big game
3. The Alabama offense has evolved
For the longest time, Alabama produced star running backs one after another. Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, Kenyon Drake, Bo Scarbrough and the list goes on and on. Damien Harris is the latest in the tradition of excellence, but his role in the offense looks much different than that of his predecessors. That’s largely because the offense looks so different.
No longer does Alabama exclusively line up in I-formation and run it up the gut. If Saban wanted to do that, he could, and he’d probably be successful. Instead, the Crimson Tide offense have evolved with the rest of college football.
Mobility at the quarterback position continues to gain importance so Saban found two quarterbacks that can do damage with their legs. Spreading the ball out and using multiple wide receiver sets has also become commonplace so Saban brought in the best blue-chip wideouts available.
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It doesn’t look much like his earlier championship squads, which in a way makes the what Saban has accomplished all the more impressive. The run-pass option is as much a part of Alabama’s offense as it is anywhere else in the nation. Alabama has evolved, and that’s bad news for everyone else.