'That Little Man was Scooting': Kevin Riley Producing in Alabama RB Room

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama running back Kevin Riley wasn't playing too far on Saturday from where he made waves at Tuscaloosa County High School. For the second consecutive week, Riley was a prominent part of the running game as the Crimson Tide crushed ULM 73-0 in its home opener.

The redshirt freshman had a team-high 11 carries. Riley's 69 rushing yards would have led the team if true freshman AK Dear had not scored a 56-yard touchdown with just over a minute to go, pushing No. 21 Alabama (1-1) over 70 points on the scoreboard. Dear finished the game with 76 yards on five carries.

"He did his job. That little man was scooting," left tackle Kadyn Proctor said of Riley with a smile. "You could just see it... Kevin, [he] definitely showed up, because he practices hard."

Riley, for the record, goes 5'11" and 191 pounds. He was listed at 195 pounds on the team's 2024 roster. He got the starting nod with Jam Miller still sidelined and picked up 22 yards on the Crimson Tide's first running play of the game. That play design and Riley's fit with it was part of the reason he was the first man up in the backfield.

"He's done a good job, the last probably three weeks, four weeks," head coach Kalen DeBoer said postgame. "Middle of camp, he really kind of turned it up. There's some things he can do that are a little different than the rest of the group."

Quarterback Ty Simpson collected his first win as a starter in the thrashing over the Warhawks. He said Riley will continue to be an asset to the offense even after Miller's return from injury, which is targeted for sometime this month. Riley caught six passes Saturday, the most receptions by any player on either side, for 45 yards.

"He's the man. I was really, really proud of him tonight," Simpson said. "I'm sure he was nervous, coming to Alabama being from Tuscaloosa, but man, he ran fearless. He didn't have any fear whatsoever. He put his head down, ran, he's elusive in the backfield."

Saturday's contest wasn't the first time Riley heavily figured into the rushing equation for the Crimson Tide. He led the running backs with 31 yards in last weekend's 31-17 loss to Florida State. There was a different strategy out of the backfield in that showing, when four running backs combined for just 19 carries. Against ULM (1-1), those same four tailbacks had 25 attempts to go with Dear's five.

When facing Florida State, the running back room had 67 yards between them. Riley eclipsed that mark by himself Saturday. The stable as a whole ran for an even 200 yards. It was a drastic turnaround after the comparative lack of carries against the Seminoles drew questions and criticism.

"It definitely helps out having them backs back there," Proctor said. "There's not too much [more] you can ask from them... They did their job. We went out and did our job. Practiced our ass off last week, and that's really what shows up in the game."