Arguably the most underappreciated and underreported aspect of Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty is the way the Crimson Tide consistently manage to capably replace program greats from year to year. Under Saban, the Tide make a task that history instructs is daunting seem effortless.

To wit: Georgia’s efforts to “replace” the likes of Herschel Walker extended well into the 21st century; Florida spent a decade in the college football wilderness after the departure of Tim Tebow; Auburn lost an epic to Florida State a few years after the departure of Cam Newton but has never been truly comfortable at quarterback in his absence; LSU went 5-5 in Season 1, AB (After Burrow). It’s not easy, unless you are at Alabama.

While the Crimson Tide haven’t had a top 20 all-time college football great on the scale of the players mentioned above, they have featured 3 Heisman Trophy winners and several Heisman finalists, along with numerous first-team All-Americans in the Saban era. These are players who would be considered “greats” at almost any program, and usually, there’s an adjustment period to replacing greatness. The Tide have weathered those storms, and they’ve done so at multiple positions. Tua gave way to Mac Jones. Mark Ingram gave way to Trent Richardson. Julio Jones took longer, but Amari Cooper came along at just the right time. Jerry Jeudy gave way to DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. The list goes on.

However, nowhere is Alabama’s ability to seamlessly reload and replace greatness as pronounced as at the running back position. Under Saban, the Tide have, time and time again, answered the bell when greatness graduates or heads for the NFL’s greener pastures. Ingram gave way to Richardson, who gave way to Eddie Lacy, who gave way to TJ Yeldon and Kenyan Drake (even as Dee Hart, the “can’t-miss kid,” flamed out). Derrick Henry took the Yeldon and Drake mantle and ran with it, to the tune of an SEC-record 2,219 yards and a Heisman Trophy. Just how good has Alabama’s running back reload and replace factory been? Future NFL All-Pros like Alvin Kamara left the program to go elsewhere and play football. That’s how good.

In 2021, the Tide are again faced with the traditionally formidable task of replacing a program legend at the running back position. Najee Harris, the rare kid who bides his time and sticks around 4 seasons, graduates next month and is off to the NFL. He leaves behind nearly 4,000 all-purpose yards in the past 2 seasons and 50 touchdowns. He is almost certain to be the latest Alabama running back selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, which starts Thurday. Further, he leaves behind a leadership void even more difficult to measure than his prodigious production, having been, by every possible credible account, one of the most-respected players in the locker room and on Alabama’s campus, generally. At most programs, losing a player of Harris’ stature would be a potentially crushing below, at least in the short term.

Of course, this is Alabama.

Spring football, focused primarily on making a new starting quarterback in Bryce Young comfortable, also featured a number of high-profile positional battles. The wide receiver situation, where Alabama must replace a Heisman Trophy winner and an All-SEC caliber talent in Waddle, has been well-documented. Yet the fiercest competition all spring may have come at running back, where Alabama begins “Life after Najee.”

Here’s a look at the key pieces — breaking down each — who will have their chance at carrying on Alabama’s outstanding running back legacy in 2021.

Brian Robinson Jr., senior

The veteran of the bunch and the presumed starter, Robinson did not participate in A-Day festivities. Robinson has been utilized to the tune of nearly 200 carries in the past 2 seasons and looked like a stronger, more physical runner in 2020 than the 3rd-down speed option Crimson Tide fans saw early in his career. In 2020, Robinson ran for 483 yards on 91 carries, a career-high in yards per attempt (5.3). He also flashed, in limited targets (9), the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield (6 receptions), which he had not in his career until 2020. He saved his best football for last, spelling Harris as a change of pace option in the National Championship Game to the tune of 10 carries and 69 yards.

As good as Harris was, Alabama still deployed Robinson to the tune of nearly 100 carries the past 2 seasons, which suggests the coaches trust him immensely, even if he isn’t a bellcow in the mold of Henry (hardly a federal offense).

The real question with Robinson is whether he approaches Harris’s 200-plus carries tallies of 2019 and 2020, or if he is just the lead piece of a group of running backs that attempt to replace Harris’ production by committee. The word by the end of spring camp was it could, surprisingly, be the former, with Robinson the dominant back and the others playing auxiliary roles, though fall camp will sort the depth chart out in greater detail.

Roydell Williams, redshirt freshman

A former first-team All-State tailback out of Hueytown, Ala., Williams was the attention-grabber in spring practice. He eclipsed the century mark on only 12 carries in one spring scrimmage and, perhaps more vitally, showed an understanding of Alabama’s blocking schemes and demands on running backs in protect situations. Trust in Williams as a blocker could be a tiebreaker in determining snaps behind Robinson. Williams doesn’t have the second-level speed of some of the other players on the depth chart, but his physicality and ability to play three downs as a savage blocker give him a chance to be the backup if he impresses in fall camp. His 107 all-purpose yards in the spring game didn’t hurt his case, either.

Jase McClellan, redshirt freshman

McClellan earned the coaching staff’s respect as an impact special teams player as a freshman and enters 2021 as a redshirt freshman only because of the extra COVID eligibility year. He parlayed constant special teams production into football action at running back late in the 2020 season, cementing his status as Bama’s third running back by the Iron Bowl. His 99 yards against Kentucky were the most by a Tide running back not named Harris in a single game in 2020. He is lethal in the open field, thanks to a tremendous burst at the line of scrimmage that helps him access the second level quickly.

He spent most the spring repping with the second team and may enter the fall as the presumed backup, though he needs to improve as a blocker to be a three-down collegiate running back. He had 108 all-purpose yards in the spring game, the most of any Tide running back.

Keilan Robinson, sophomore

The diminutive Robinson opted out of the 2020 season due to familial COVID concerns but returned stronger and more capable of absorbing contact than at any time in his career. He’ll flash out at wide receiver some as well, a playmaker who is very dangerous in space. He’s not big or bulky enough to be a three-down running back at Alabama, but he carried the ball 39 times a season ago and is a big-time enough playmaker that the staff worked on a position change via repetition this spring. If Trey Sanders (below) is healthy, a slot position type action with Christian Leary might be his best path to constant playing time, but it’s frightening — and a good sign — that Alabama has someone this explosive at option four on the depth chart.

Others: Trey Sanders, redshirt freshman; Camar Wheaton, freshman; Kyle Edwards, redshirt freshman

Let’s begin with what has to be one of the first “third-year” freshman in the history of Alabama football, Trey Sanders. The former 5-star was the best running back in America out of high school and broke Georgia and Florida hearts when he chose the Tide over the home state Gators and the hard-charging pitch of the Dawgs.

He then suffered a season-ending injury in practice and missed his freshman campaign entirely. He played sparingly in 2020, rushing for 134 yards on just 30 carries, including an impressive 80-yard performance against Tennessee. Unfortunately, his best game as an Alabama football player came in what would be his last performance, as he was life-flighted out of a vehicle in a November car accident and has been working to rehab a hip injury ever since.

Life hasn’t been that fair to Sanders since he showed up on the Capstone. But his talent is inarguable and if he is healthy, he’ll be a factor.

Wheaton, a 5-star out of Texas, arrives this summer. There are others ahead of him. Edwards, who redshirted a season ago, is a bulldozer of a runner who could factor into short-yardage situations.

All told, it’s a deep group, and one very capable of replacing Najee Harris, even if the herculean nature of that task isn’t completed by one person in particular. In other words —  same old Alabama.