The Alabama offense took a big hit on Saturday when its projected starter at running back, Jam Miller, suffered an injury that will force him to miss some time. He was their top running back a year ago with 145 rushing attempts for 668 yards and seven touchdowns.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe was their leading rusher with 168 attempts, 726 rushing yards, and 20 rushing touchdowns.
Alabama will start an inexperienced quarterback, Ty Simpson, on the road in a hostile environment. He only has 50 passing attempts in his college career, so the common sense approach would be Alabama relying on their rushing attack to avoid putting too much pressure on him, having success through the air.
Simpson is capable of using his legs in the running game. He’s not Jalen Milroe, but we could see Alabama look to incorporate him more in the rushing attack since they don’t have much experience at running back. The only problem is that they don’t have any proven depth at quarterback, so it’s a risk to have him taking too many hits in the running game in the first game of the season.
He’s not small, but he’s not a huge guy either. It’s an interesting development for Kalen Deboer to consider. It’s not like Alabama is void of talent at the running back position. However, the nuances of reading blocks for running lanes and picking up blocks in pass protection are things inexperienced guys usually struggle with early in their careers.
FSU defensive coordinator Tony White will probably go all out to stop the run. It’ll be interesting to see what Alabama does if the game is close in the second half. Will they turn Simpson loose through the air?
Alabama has time to gameplan, and it's unfortunate Miller suffered an injury. However, it's not an ideal situation for the Crimson Tide.