It had some success against Missouri and generated two touchdowns versus Texas A&M, but Alabama’s offensive line has not been pleased with its part in the running game so far.
For a group that media pundits and fans project as a Joe Moore Award-winning unit, the Crimson Tide wants to be able to successfully run the football whenever it chooses to go to it.
Najee Harris totaled 98 yards rushing (three scores) in the Tide’s meeting with the Tigers; however, Brian Robinson and Trey Sanders did not see a lot of room to make plays. Last week, Robinson had some good moments on the Aggies’ defensive front yet Harris and Sanders struggled. After guiding Harris to his first career 1,000-yard rushing campaign (1,224) in 2019, Alabama’s offensive front is focused on starting more balance this week as the Tide travels to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to face Ole Miss.
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According to Landon Dickerson, he has been ‘disappointed’ with the run game.
*Dickerson talks on Alabama’s run game at 1:00 mark
“In all honesty, the run game is what we pride ourselves on,” he said on Tuesday. “The past two games have actually been disappointing as an offensive lineman. I think the biggest takeaway for us is we’re close on a lot of things, but a lot of details and a lot of clean up needs to happen before we can have a great run game.”
As a second-year starter at center, Dickerson feels Alabama will things rolling at practice.
With the group of Alex Leatherwood, Deonte Brown, Dickerson, Emil Ekiyor and Evan Neal, it is only a matter of time before chances open up for its running backs. In reflecting back on the 2019 season, it was not until the LSU game when the Crimson Tide decided to trust its backs.
Hopefully, it will not take until the seventh matchup to achieve an honest balance on offense. Seeing that a lot of rain is projected for Saturday, maybe this will be the week for Alabama’s ground game to emerge.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
