Alabama Football: 5 position battles to watch this spring

3. No. 2 Running Back

Junior Najee Harris has the featured back option locked down, but with both Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs departing, there’s no other running back on the roster with experience taking meaningful carries in big games.

Incoming freshman Trey Sanders, the nation’s No. 1 prospect at the position, figures to push for immediate playing time in his first season, but he won’t join the team until the summer. Neither will four-star Keilan Robinson, which leaves the Crimson Tide with just three scholarship running backs to go through spring practice with.

The coaching staff knows what they’re getting with Harris, and while he has the frame to theoretically hold up to the rigors of workhorse carries, Saban has long preferred to spread the wealth with multiple running backs to keep everyone fresh. In order to do that, someone will have to step up this spring, or Sanders will have to be a quick learner during the summer.

All eyes figure to be on junior Brian Robinson Jr., a former four-star recruit and Tuscaloosa native, who has waited his turn in a loaded Alabama backfield the last couple of seasons. He was too talented to redshirt in either season, however, which shows how Saban and the coaching staff(s) have felt about his ability.

Robinson has been a key player on special teams and lined up as a fullback in short yardage situations for the Crimson Tide, but has yet to tote a meaningful carry in his two-year career. That will likely change in 2019 as Alabama will need him to step into a much bigger role.

Robinson won’t be able to chase down Harris for the featured role regardless of what happens in the spring, but he has the opportunity to impress enough to push out to a big lead on Sanders when the talented freshmen finally gets to Tuscaloosa.

Also keep your eyes out on redshirt freshman Jerome Ford, who has the makings of another Josh Jacobs-type receiving back. It’s unlikely he’s as good and versatile as Jacobs, but he can be the receiving threat out of the backfield that Tagovailoa covets.