Alabama Football: 5 early signees who’ll have instant impact in 2019

1. Trey Sanders (RB/Bradenton, Fla.)

Trey Sanders gave everyone a little bit of a scare, but finally sent in his paperwork at around 10:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday night, giving Alabama their third five-star of the class, and a stud at the running back position.

Sanders made a bold proclamation when he chose Alabama over Georgia and others, telling a group of reporters that he would win the Heisman with the Crimson Tide next season, or in the very least be a finalist.

While that is obviously far-fetched, Sanders has the most clear path to playing time of any player in this recruiting class.

With Damien Harris a graduating senior, and the prospect of Josh Jacobs going pro early looking increasingly more likely, Alabama will be left with only one running back on the roster who has ever taken a meaningful carry in sophomore Najee Harris.

Harris figures to be the No. 1 option next season, but Alabama always employs multiple running backs, and the role of the No. 2 back appears to be wide-open.

Sophomore Brian Robinson Jr. is a highly talented guy who has impressed in mop-up duty, and the staff was high on freshmen Jerome Ford who is currently redshirting, but neither guy possesses the elite talent level of Sanders.

Sanders has drawn comparisons to stud runners like Ezekiel Elliott and Adrian Peterson. He’s got tremendous burst and power, with the size to take the pounding from an SEC schedule.

What will determine how soon Sanders gets on the field, and then how much he actually plays, will be how quickly he picks up the blocking schemes in the passing game. The biggest struggle for stud running backs like him is learning how to pass block, something they are rarely asked to do on the high school level.

If he’s able to quickly learn the schemes, then Sanders is talented enough to make a big impact on what will be a loaded Alabama offense in 2019.