What Kalen DeBoer did the last time his top running back went down in fall camp

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Washington Huskies running back Dillon Johnson (7) runs with the ball against the Michigan Wolverines during the second quarter in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb are at the drawing board trying to figure out what approach Alabama football will take in their run game to open the 2025 season after temporarily losing senior tailback Jam Miller to an upper-body injury in the Crimson Tide’s latest scrimmage of fall camp.

Injuries to starters aren’t ideal, but this dilemma is something DeBoer and Grubb have dealt with in the past. In fact, in 2023, a similar situation happened at the same exact position came knocking on DeBoer’s door in fall camp when Washington Huskies senior running back Cameron Davis suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Davis was coming off his best season at Washington. He rushed for 522 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2022 on 107 carries. All signs pointed to him being more productive during the 2023 football season before he went down with the injury that sidelined him for the entire season.
Similar to Davis at Washington, Miller was expected to be the Tide’s featured back to open the season. Unlike Davis and fortunately for Alabama, Miller is not expected to miss an extended period of time.

DeBoer and Grubb used the opportunity in 2023 to lean on another back, who produced at a high level in a balanced offense.

The Huskies’ rushing attack was led by junior tailback Dillon Johnson, who rushed for 1,195 yards on 243 total carries and 16 touchdowns. Johnson’s efforts also gave Washington the second-most-effective run game in the PAC-12, only behind Oregon, with an average of 118.5 yards per game.

The Crimson Tide’s offense is now hoping for similar production in Miller’s absence from their backfield’s trio of reserves, but if one guy separates himself, he could serve as the lead back until Miller is back to 100 percent.

DeBoer raved about the ability each rusher possesses behind Miller in the Tide’s running back room earlier this fall camp.

“Daniel Hill is a guy we’re getting more and comfortable with,” DeBoer said. “He’s a big back but I think it’s deceiving what he does from a skillset standpoint because he can catch the ball out of the backfield. And Dre (Dre’Lyn Washington) has been consistent all camp long. I thought he recorded a couple runs up in there, did a nice job of maybe when there’s not something there, just moving the pile and getting those three yard gains that are important to setting the offense for good down and distances. Rich (Richard Young) continues to do his thing too.”

With Alabama football’s season opener against Florida State on August 30th in Tallahassee now less than two weeks away, DeBoer and Grubb will more than likely lean on the combination of Hill, Washington and Young on the ground early on.

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