Kalen DeBoer asking for more from Alabama RB room in wake of Jam Miller injury
By Jacob Moss
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The Alabama Crimson Tide backfield took a blow this past Saturday when senior running back Jam Miller went down with a collarbone injury during the team’s second scrimmage.
The injury itself wasn’t anything too serious, but head coach Kalen DeBoer did announced on Thursday that Miller would be out for Week 1 when Alabama travels to Tallahassee for the opening game against the Florida State Seminoles.
Losing your senior leader and star tailback is never something that any team wants to deal with, but it’s an unfortunate reality that sometimes comes along with playing big-time college football.
For DeBoer, it’s also a chance for him to see what the younger guys on the depth chart have, and he recently told reporters he’ll be asking them to step up in the wake of Miller’s absence.
“I’m just looking for someone to separate themselves,” DeBoer said. “I feel like Jam was certainly at a higher level, but I know these guys are hungry. Now they just gotta do it, and they gotta show us, and it’s not just one area, it’s all phases. It’s running the ball, it’s pass protection, it’s just all of those things combined. Each of those guys has their strengths, but now it’s just about needing one of those guys to stand out.”
Other options in Alabama’s backfield include Richard Young, Daniel Hill, Dre Washington and true freshman AK Dear. For now, it’s unclear who will be getting a starter’s workload for as long as Miller is unavailable.
There’s certainly an abundance of talent in the Crimson Tide backfield, but it’s clear that DeBoer is looking for somebody who can take the next step, and whoever that ends up being will more than likely be getting the start against the Noles come kickoff.
