On Monday, Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was asked if running back AK Dear will get more carries after only having two rushes before the BYE week.
Dear sustained a lower-body injury during fall camp, and he has missed significant time this season because of it, and perhaps the injury took him out of the running to be a running back that regularly rotates in and receives significant touches.
According to Grubb, Dear is not in the clear when it comes to getting healthy, but he said the sophomore could get more touches if he heals up.
“AK has been working back through some health things even this week, so we’ll see how the week goes,” Grubb said. “If he got healthy, there will be a chance.”
It sounds like either Dear is not fully over the injury he sustained in fall camp, but something else could have happened to further set him back from getting in the mix in the Alabama offense.
The main issue is that the Crimson Tide are not a team that sticks with the running game. Grubb and the staff have not demonstrated that they’ll stick with the run game if it doesn’t work in the beginning, so there are limited opportunities for the Crimson Tide’s stable of running backs to get touches.
Only time will tell if Dear finds a role in this Alabama offense, and with Daniel Hill having ball security issues and EJ Crowell being injured, the time for Dear to get his touches could be this weekend.
Alabama football will play LSU in Baton Rouge this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
