Which Alabama Running Backs Must Step Up Following Jam Miller's Injury?

“Jam Miller suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday’s scrimmage and went in for a procedure on Saturday evening," DeBoer said. "Jam should recover fully with a timetable for his return yet to be determined.”

It looks like Miller will miss at minimum the season opener on the road against Florida State, and possibly the next couple of weeks following it. Alabama has five other running backs on the depth chart, so who will have to step up in Miller's absence?

Outside of Miller, there's not another player among the other five scholarship backs with a ton of rushing reps in a Crimson Tide uniform. Redshirt sophomore Richard Young suffered a leg injury in Week 3 against Wisconsin that kept him from having a bigger role out of the backfield last season.

As a highly-touted player out of high school that's had to wait his turn at Alabama, Young makes a solid case to be the Tide's No. 2 running back on the depth chart in 2025. But of course, he has some competition

Should Young be named the second option (including Miller), the third and fourth running backs on the depth chart are a bit of a toss-up between Louisiana transfer Dre Washington and sophomore Daniel Hill.

Over the last three seasons with the Ragin' Cajuns, Washington racked up 229 carries for 1,343 yards and nine touchdowns. Hill has "stood out as much as anybody" this offseason, according to offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, and DeBoer seems to think highly of the bruising back as well.

"Daniel Hill is a guy we're getting more and more comfortable with," DeBoer said on Aug. 9. "He's a big back, but I think he's deceiving when it comes to what he does from a skillset standpoint because he can catch the ball out of the backfield."

Young, Washington and Hill are all poised to see some time on the field in Miller's absence, but it might be more difficult for freshman AK Dear and redshirt freshman Kevin Riley due to their lack of collegiate experience.

Riley, a Tuscaloosa County High School product, had 10 rushes for 30 yards with the Crimson Tide last season. Dear was considered a top-five running back in the class of 2025 by the major recruiting services, and could take significantly more snaps in 2026 than this season.

Who should be Alabama's lead running back in the season opener? How should the depth chart be ordered? Who will running backs coach Robert Gillespie turn to?

Tale of the Backup RB Tape:

Not an official depth chart order (excluding Jam Miller)

• Richard Young – redshirt sophomore (5-11, 212 lbs)
• Dre Washington – redshirt senior (5-9, 216 lbs)
• Daniel Hill – sophomore (6-1, 244 lbs)
• AK Dear – freshman (6-1, 212 lbs)
• Kevin Riley – redshirt freshman (5-11, 191 lbs)