Bama RB groups under Saban - ranking them

CoachJeff

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Jan 21, 2014
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So looking at Bama's RB depth chart got me thinking: is this the least depth under Saban (I don't count 2007)? Well, let's go back and see:

2008 - Coffee, Ingram, Upchurch
2009 - Ingram, Richardson, Upchurch
2010 - Ingram, Richardson, Lacy
2011 - Richardson, Lacy, Fowler
2012 - Lacy, Yeldon, Drake
2013 - Yeldon, Drake, Henry
2014 - Yeldon, Henry, Drake
2015 - Henry, Drake, D. Harris, Bo
2016 - D Harris, Bo, Josh Jacobs
2017 - D Harris, Bo, Najee, Josh Jacobs
2018 - D Harris, J Jacobs, Najee, Brian Robinson
2019 - Najee, B Robinson, Jerome Ford

Bama has had some insane backfields but this year looks quite pedestrian in comparison.

Here's how I'd rank the backfields: 2010, 2015, 2011, 2018, 2009, 2017, 2016, 2012, 2014, 2008, 2013, 2019
 

bamamoss2

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I would agree with the earlier programs being the stronger running backs but with a caveat. How would you rank the OLs for Sabans tenure at Alabama? I think that clearly we were coaching the run game more extensively and to some degree, that has taken a back seat with the offense we are running today. I certainly hope that changes soon . I mis the days of Coach Pendry and the OLs of his era.
 

EnterBama

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Oct 24, 2018
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I would agree with the earlier programs being the stronger running backs but with a caveat. How would you rank the OLs for Sabans tenure at Alabama? I think that clearly we were coaching the run game more extensively and to some degree, that has taken a back seat with the offense we are running today. I certainly hope that changes soon . I mis the days of Coach Pendry and the OLs of his era.
I think the difference is we're missing RB Coach Burns. He had a style of play he taught our RB's. Ingram and Richardson both commented on how they had to learn it and how it helped them. The talent level is still there just not Coach Burns.
 

RTR91

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Nov 23, 2007
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One game sample size is not enough to compare to groups that had at least 13 games.

Also, the offenses aren't comparable. The OLs are different. The schemes are different. The other skill position players are, collectively, better than most of the other years.
 

bamamoss2

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One game sample size is not enough to compare to groups that had at least 13 games.

Also, the offenses aren't comparable. The OLs are different. The schemes are different. The other skill position players are, collectively, better than most of the other years.
Maybe so, but it would be nice to be able to run for 3rd and 1 rather than having to throw it!
 

CoolBreeze

Hall of Fame
Sep 18, 2002
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So we are ranking backfields after one game? :rolleye2: Let's let our pedestrian looking backfield get a couple of games under their belt before leading the charge to show their mediocrity compared to past units.
 

WMack4Bama

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100% agree.

Let me also add that the game is different. We'll never again ask a RB to do what Mark Ingram did vs South Carolina in 2009, not with all the talent at QB we have lined up coming through the door.


One game sample size is not enough to compare to groups that had at least 13 games.

Also, the offenses aren't comparable. The OLs are different. The schemes are different. The other skill position players are, collectively, better than most of the other years.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
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Like the others I'm refusing to rank 2019 when there has only been one game, and every single year we've had multiple games where the running game never got on track.

But for the life of me I do not understand 2015 no being ranked #1. Yes, it was mostly Derrick Henry. The same Derrick Henry that broke records held by Bo Jackson and Hershel Walker.
 

RollTide1224

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Feb 18, 2008
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Like the others I'm refusing to rank 2019 when there has only been one game, and every single year we've had multiple games where the running game never got on track.

But for the life of me I do not understand 2015 no being ranked #1. Yes, it was mostly Derrick Henry. The same Derrick Henry that broke records held by Bo Jackson and Hershel Walker.
Also the same Derrick Henry that didn't really need a backup cause he could carry it 40 times a game for weeks straight and show no signs of fatigue.

I think the 2010 group gets the nod based off of the combination of the three that were around but not their particular performances that year. Ingram had the knee scope during fall camp which slowed him for several weeks. I believe Trent ended up having a sternum issue and maybe a knee issue later in the year. Lacy didn't get to play much but obviously he was fantastic in 2012.
 

rgw

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Sep 15, 2003
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I have trouble rating the RBs because their performances are tied to the OL so I'm just gonna ignore the question and do a Run Game Ranking instead:

1) 2009
2) 2012
3) 2015
4) 2011
5) 2008
6) 2017
7) 2016
8) 2018
9) 2013
10) 2014
11) 2010
12) 2007


Basically the top 7 could all get a tough yard against stacked defenses. 2018 was the best of the "soft" tier because they got big yards at least. 2007 is the worst obviously. The inability to get a tough yard in the run game was a consistent theme of our greatest "letdowns" (successful as they were, it is certainly relative).
 
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BamaInBham

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So looking at Bama's RB depth chart got me thinking: is this the least depth under Saban (I don't count 2007)? Well, let's go back and see:

2008 - Coffee, Ingram, Upchurch
2009 - Ingram, Richardson, Upchurch
2010 - Ingram, Richardson, Lacy
2011 - Richardson, Lacy, Fowler
2012 - Lacy, Yeldon, Drake
2013 - Yeldon, Drake, Henry
2014 - Yeldon, Henry, Drake
2015 - Henry, Drake, D. Harris, Bo
2016 - D Harris, Bo, Josh Jacobs
2017 - D Harris, Bo, Najee, Josh Jacobs
2018 - D Harris, J Jacobs, Najee, Brian Robinson
2019 - Najee, B Robinson, Jerome Ford

Bama has had some insane backfields but this year looks quite pedestrian in comparison.

Here's how I'd rank the backfields: 2010, 2015, 2011, 2018, 2009, 2017, 2016, 2012, 2014, 2008, 2013, 2019
Bama running by the numbers.
Jalen "distorted", in a good way, 16 & 17. The order was surprising to me. Of course there are many factors that affect it, which means you can't just appeal to numbers.

YPC
2016 5.8 D Harris, Bo, Josh Jacobs
2013 5.8 Yeldon, Drake, Henry
2017 5.7 D Harris, Bo, Najee, Josh Jacobs
2012 5.6 Lacy, Yeldon, Drake
2011 5.5 Richardson, Lacy, Fowler
2018 5.2 D Harris, J Jacobs, Najee, Brian Robinson
2014 5.1 Yeldon, Henry, Drake
2010 5.1 Ingram, Richardson, Lacy
2009 5.0 Ingram, Richardson, Upchurch
2015 4.7 Henry, Drake, D. Harris, Bo
2008 4.6 Coffee, Ingram, Upchurch

YPG
2017 250 D Harris, Bo, Najee, Josh Jacobs
2016 245 D Harris, Bo, Josh Jacobs
2012 228 Lacy, Yeldon, Drake
2009 215 Ingram, Richardson, Upchurch
2011 214 Richardson, Lacy, Fowler
2014 206 Yeldon, Henry, Drake
2013 205 Yeldon, Drake, Henry
2015 200 Henry, Drake, D. Harris, Bo
2018 198 D Harris, J Jacobs, Najee, Brian Robinson
2008 184 Coffee, Ingram, Upchurch
2010 182 Ingram, Richardson, Lacy

IMO, TJ Yeldon is the most underrated player of Saban's tenure. There seems to be a bias by some against his years, when in fact they were 2 of the top 4 years in YPC. The only reason they are not the top 2 is Jalen's QB runs. TJ played hurt his last year and his YPC dropped of dramatically (6.3, 6.0, 5.0, career 6.0, one of the highest in Bama history), as did his total. He made crucial plays (e.g. LSU 2012, UGA 2012 made an incredible third down conversion on the last scoring drive, and other great plays throughout his career.) He and Lacy were incredible vs ND. Their defenders talked about "your incredible runners", not the OL after the game. They had to dodge numerous defenders in the backfield. Rewatch that game, they were amazing. His con is that he had the fumble that cost a better shot at the A&M game and other fumbles but they did not cost a game.
 

RollTide_HTTR

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IMO, TJ Yeldon is the most underrated player of Saban's tenure. There seems to be a bias by some against his years, when in fact they were 2 of the top 4 years in YPC. The only reason they are not the top 2 is Jalen's QB runs. TJ played hurt his last year and his YPC dropped of dramatically (6.3, 6.0, 5.0, career 6.0, one of the highest in Bama history), as did his total. He made crucial plays (e.g. LSU 2012, UGA 2012 made an incredible third down conversion on the last scoring drive, and other great plays throughout his career.) He and Lacy were incredible vs ND. Their defenders talked about "your incredible runners", not the OL after the game. They had to dodge numerous defenders in the backfield. Rewatch that game, they were amazing. His con is that he had the fumble that cost a better shot at the A&M game and other fumbles but they did not cost a game.
I don't think there is a bias he's just not quite as good as some of the other backs we've had. Yeldon played behind the best lines.

Sure he averaged a high ypc but each year he was here had the lowest ypc of our RBs. I like Yeldon, he was a good player and made some plays but I don't think there is any bias here I just think he is overshadowed by better players.

2012
Yeldon - 6.3 ypc
Lacy - 6.5 ypc
Drake - 6.7 ypc

2013
Yeldon - 6.0 ypc
Drake - 7.5 ypc
Henry - 10.9 ypc

2014
Yeldon - 5.0 ypc
Drake - 5.1 ypc
Henry - 5.8 ypc
 

BamaInBham

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I don't think there is a bias he's just not quite as good as some of the other backs we've had. Yeldon played behind the best lines.

Sure he averaged a high ypc but each year he was here had the lowest ypc of our RBs. I like Yeldon, he was a good player and made some plays but I don't think there is any bias here I just think he is overshadowed by better players.

2012
Yeldon - 6.3 ypc
Lacy - 6.5 ypc
Drake - 6.7 ypc

2013
Yeldon - 6.0 ypc
Drake - 7.5 ypc
Henry - 10.9 ypc

2014
Yeldon - 5.0 ypc
Drake - 5.1 ypc
Henry - 5.8 ypc
I wasn't speaking of everyone, certainly not you personally since I had no idea what you are any other specific poster had said, but the OP while not naming TJ, understated his years (3 of the bottom 5, when in YPC they were 2 of the top 4 and 7th the year he was hurt). Maybe it had nothing to do with his view of TJ. But over the years, IMO, he has gotten little praise from the "board" :smile:.

Some of those comparisons are almost meaningless since Drake and early Henry had so few carries. Lacy was valid and his YPC is just above TJ's. Yeldon was hurt in 2014 but played.
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
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Yeldon is mostly passed off by many Bama fans because he had the worst Offensive coordinator in the Saban era calling running plays with slim to none success rates for 2 of his 3 years. Most people's memories of him are the 2012 LSU game, and continuously getting stuffed against Auburn in 2013.
 

tusks_n_raider

Hall of Fame
May 13, 2009
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I'm going to try and remove emotions 1st and look just at raw numbers:

2008 - 558 Carries for 2584 yards and 32 TD's (184.57 YPG)

2009 - 601 Carries for 3011 yards and 31 TD's (215.07 YPG)

2010 - 467 Carries for 2378 yards and 30 TD's (182.92 YPG)

2011 - 508 Carries for 2788 yards and 34 TD's (214.46 YPG)

2012 - 570 Carries for 3185 yards and 37 TD's (227.50 YPG)

2013 - 461 Carries for 2673 yards and 28 TD's (205.62 YPG)

2014 - 567 Carries for 2893 yards and 35 TD's (206.64 YPG)

2015 - 642 Carries for 2999 yards and 33 TD's (199.93 YPG)

2016 - 639 Carries for 3675 yards and 33 TD's (245.00 YPG) (With Jalen)
2016 - 448 Carries for 2721 yards and 20 TD's (181.4 YPG) (Without Jalen)

2017 - 612 Carries for 3509 yards and 36 TD's (250.64 YPG) (With Jalen)
2017 - 458 Carries for 2654 yards and 28 TD's (189.57 YPG) (Without Jalen)

2018 - 571 Carries for 2976 yards and 33 TD's (198.40 YPG)

2019 - TBD

2016 and 2017 really leap off the page right?

*Well that's because of the anomaly of having Jalen putting up RB stats with the group. I'm going to remove his numbers below each year to show JUST RB production*

To his credit he added around 60 YPG to the rushing totals for 2 years but as we all know that was sometime good and sometimes not so good.

Only 2 Pure RB groups produced 3,000+ Yards in a season: 2009 in 14 games and 2012 in 14 games (2015 and 2018 were CLOSE at 2,999 yards and 2,976 yards respectively albeit with one extra game each for 15 games in total.

Only 3 Pure RB's failed to produce 30+ TD's in a season: 2013, 2016, and 2017.... Though I admit a large part of 2016 and 2017 is again carries being taken away for RB's and given to Jalen. With Jalen's TD those years are 30+ TD's

5 Different RB groups averaged over 200 YPG: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (Then 2016 and 2017 If you count Jalen's numbers)

6 Different RB Groups averaged less than 200 YPG: 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 (Remove 2016 and 2017 If you count Jalen's numbers)

One Additional Caveat for the above: 2015 and 2018 again both BARELY misses the 200+ YPG category at 199.93 YPG and 198.40 YPG respectively.

So what do I think after looking at all those numbers??

I think 2012 was without a doubt "The Most Productive Group" even IF a bulk of the production was during the back half of the season. But then again doesn't that make it more impressive it was against the Best teams near the end??

2012 Leads in Yards (3,185) YPG (227.50) and TD's (37)

I guess that's the equivalent of the Triple Crown for this RB Group. It's also to be expected since they ran behind arguably one of if not the best OL ever at Bama.

If you count Jalens numbers in 2016 and 2017 however the 2012 group is 3rd in Yards and YPG but still overall #1 in TD's.... and hey..... putting 6 on the score board is what matters most right?

Now I can't say outright who's "Best" or even objectively who's "Best" because there are so many other variables and X factors.

Something I left out because I didn't want to dive that deep is yardage lost by QB's on sacks and TFL's. Maybe that's unfair since I removed Jalen's additional yardage but I didn't expect those amounts to have anywhere near the same overall weight. * I may Look it up later and edit the numbers*

There are also things that affect the numbers like the OL coach and the OC obviously.

I will say this though: I think 2009, 2011, and 2015 were the most valuable units.... the MVU's

2009 had a 1st year starter in McElroy that went through a heavy slump from mid Oct to mid Nov and Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson carried the team through that..... Especially Ingram of course.

2011 had a 1st year starter in AJ McCarron who went didn't really take the handcuffs off until the rematch with LSU for the NC. Trent was a STUD that year who also did a ton of heavy lifting.

2015 had 1st year starter Jake Coker who didn't really hit his stride until the latter part of the season but the whole way we had Derrick Henry putting the team on his back and carrying us to the CFP's

So Who is my Favorite???? 2009, 2011, 2012, or 2015

If I have to Pick then I pick 2009 lead by Mark Ingram with support from Trent.

That group is 2nd only to 2012 in Yards and YPG and it was way more consistently reliable throughout the season. They were also surrounded by less overall talent.

Lastly I'll rank them like this in Tiers:

Tier1:
2009
2012
2015
2011

Tier2:
2014
2013
2018

Tier3:
2017
2016
2008
2010

Last Caveat: If you count Jalen's rushing numbers then I move 2016 and 2017 into Tier 1 but still all below 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2011

 

Ledsteplin

Hall of Fame
Nov 20, 2013
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Interesting! Had Jalen not had his running ability and got the yards he did, there would likely have been more plays with the RBs gaining more yardage. So, that's kinda hard to figure. Thanks for putting this together.
 

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