Former Alabama All-American details why Tide struggled to run the football in 2025

Oct 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Vanderbilt defensive lineman Khordae Sydnor (96) ties up Alabama running back Jam Miller (26) at the line at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Former Alabama football offensive lineman, Mike Johnson provided several reasons why he felt the Tide struggled to run the football in 2025.

Johnson was an All-American offensive lineman for the Crimson Tide in 2008 and 2009. He recently joined the Millers’ Edge on Tide 100.9, and former Alabama outside linebacker, Christian Miller asked Johnson why Alabama struggled to run the football in 2025. Johnson laid out multiple reasons.

“One of the things that I hated about watching our offense try to run the ball was the timing,” Johnson said. “I think you guys on the defensive side called it being in phase, depending on how close the blocker was to the running back and whether or not you were trying to put hands on a blocker or get around the blocker and things like that. The timing has to be good on the offensive side of it. If you have a puller, you don’t want the running back eight yards behind the puller. You want the phasing, the timing of it to be really, really good… but the timing was always so bad. It felt like either the running back was running into the backs of offensive linemen before they could get off blocks or the running back was too far away, and the blocks were being beaten before the running back could get there.”

The former Tide offensive lineman went on to say he felt the Tide’s running back room was not as good as it had been in years past.

“I do think that there was less talent this year at the running back stable than we’ve had in some time,” Johnson told Miller. “I did love Jam. I think there is talent there, but I would see a number of times that guys like Damien Harris used to bounce outside and then they’d make a cornerback miss one-on-one, and they’d get up the field for 20 yards. I don’t know that we had that ability with some of the running backs we had this year.”

Johnson also feels Ryan Grubb should shoulder some of the blame for the Tide’s lack of a dangerous rushing attack.

“I don’t have anything against the guy, but Ryan Grub came from the Seattle Seahawks, and the Seattle Seahawks played against the Falcons last season,” Johnson said. “One of the talking points of the Seattle Seahawks’ media going through that week was how Ryan Grub was going to be fired because he could not figure out how to run the ball in Seattle. And when he was announced in Tuscaloosa I was like, ‘Man, I hope he figures out how to run the ball because he really didn’t do a good job of it up in Seattle.'”

Alabama finished the season without a running back who carried the football more than 20 times, averaging more than 3.9 yards per carry. The Tide has made a change to address this problem, with them expected to hire Adrian Klemm to replace Chris Kapilovic.

Running the football will have to be something the Crimson Tide make improvements in 2026 if it wants to make a push at another National Championship.