I seem to remember threads for the last two years to the effect that we had a roadblock at RB. Depth sure can evaporate in a hurry...
I remember seeing a lot about the Tide potentially having too much depth at RB last year. Having two 1,000 yard rushers goes a long way to dispel that, along with having someone leave early every year. You have to keep reloading...
Aside from that though, the team had true freshman as second and third string RB by years end, and they gave a lot of time to a walk on. Part of this is the fact that the schedule is getting longer, and a playoff game will only add to that. You don't want to run out of running backs headed into the post season.
As far as QB, last year things seemed pretty comfortable. AJ backed up by an experienced 5 star QB. They had three other scholarship QBs behind him. Once he transfers though, it became clear there wasn't an obvious replacement. Blake Sims is going to be a junior, and it's hard to imagine him being the full time QB anyway, so he's not much of an option. Ely will only be a sophomore, but clearly Saban isn't seeing something he'd like to see, or else he'd have been the backup last year. So, it makes sense that he'd want Morris, and Bateman. McLeod was the only one that threw me off, I thought once Del Rio came on board, he (and/or Morris) might decide to look elsewhere.
However, it's clear that Saban is looking for his future QB, and there's something he sees in all these guys. Since all of these guys will participate in spring practice, I imagine we will see a departure though, as someone figures out they are too far down the totem pole. The flip side is that if AJ gets hurt, all our hopes will rest on one of those guy's shoulders.