Hardly a year goes by that Alabama isn’t mentioned in the national title conversation. With a once-again loaded roster, 2015 will see the Crimson Tide hovering around the top of the polls to start the season, as has become customary in the Nick Saban era.

This iteration has plenty of question marks, from quarterback to the defensive backfield. With turnover galore on offense, there is a need for playmakers to step up and put their stamp on the team. Running back Derrick Henry has been penciled in as a Heisman contender, but his backfield mate might be even more vital to the team’s success.

Kenyan Drake flashed immense potential last year, breaking several big plays in the season’s first month before suffering a gruesome-looking broken leg that ended his season. Although he wore a black non-contact jersey during spring practice, the hype is building that Drake will be one of the biggest impact players in the SEC.

What makes Drake such an intriguing figure? Let’s run down the biggest reasons.

1. He already has his speed back 

Drake is one of the fastest running backs in the SEC, but when a player suffers a serious leg injury that becomes an immediate concern in recovery. Saban put those concerns to rest when he said that Drake ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash during winter testing, which is around where he’d been previously clocked.

That speed makes Drake a rare commodity for Saban’s offenses. While guys like Trent Richardson and T.J. Yeldon had speed, they weren’t exactly leaving the ground behind them smoking. Drake is a burner unlike any player to get regular reps at running back for the Tide, and having that raw speed along with Henry’s power gives Alabama the quintessential “thunder and lightning” backfield.

2. He’s going to be relied upon

Who would’ve thunk it: Alabama is thin at running back this year, despite years of hauling in four- and five-star prospects. Thanks to Bo Scarbrough’s torn ACL, Tyren Jones’ dismissal and Altee Tenpenny’s decision to transfer, Drake and Henry are the only backs with SEC experience on Alabama’s roster.

While the Crimson Tide have had some high-usage backs under Saban (Mark Ingram in 2009, Richardson in 2011), there are generally plenty of carries to be had for secondary rushers. Damien Harris and DeSherrius Flowers have talent, but they’re both going to be true freshmen this fall and the Tide generally lean toward veteran players to carry heavy loads.

3. He might be Alabama’s best pass catcher

This isn’t meant to diss Alabama’s receiving corps, which is very talented but lacks experience after last year’s top-three pass catchers departed. Given Lane Kiffin’s history, one of them will emerge as a breakout star sooner than later.

However, given Drake’s abilities as a receiver out of the backfield, it’s not an insult to think that he could be the Tide’s most dangerous weapon in the passing game. After all, he does hold a career average of 17.3 yards per reception (albeit on just 17 catches), with the ability to turn any catch into a long touchdown.

Drake won’t just be a threat out of the backfield; he spent time this spring lining up out wide with the actual receivers. That kind of versatility will allow Kiffin to have both Drake and Henry on the field at the same time, opening up a world of play-calling possibilities.

4. He’s drawing comparisons to Reggie Bush

Kiffin coached Bush during the running back’s devastating heyday at Southern Cal, and could well see the parallels between the two: speed, versatility, elusiveness. It was actually Drake’s teammates, Chris Black and Reggie Ragland, who made the comparison, but we can assume that those two have seen all the same ridiculous highlights from Bush that the rest of the country has enjoyed.

In 2005, Kiffin had a power back in LenDale White and a walking lightning strike in Bush, as well as a phenomenal receiver in Dwayne Jarrett. All three of those players piled up 1,000 yards from scrimmage, and while he may not admit it publicly, Kiffin surely believes he has the talent on this roster to do something similar.

5. We have no idea how he’ll actually be used

The most intriguing part of Drake’s emergence as one of the biggest X-factors in the SEC is that no one outside of Alabama’s coaches meetings knows exactly how he’ll be used this fall. While Kiffin has experience with a weapon like Drake, the rising senior is pretty unique to Saban. Never before under the coach has Alabama had a player with the vast set of on-field tools and physical gifts that Drake possesses.

The possibilities for how the Tide will use Drake offensively are nearly endless — lined up in the I-formation, in the backfield with Henry, motioning out of the backfield, lining up out wide. How often he lines up in the back field, split out or wherever else is still a mystery, one we won’t know the answer to for sure until September gets here.