Top 5 Bama RBs

ROLL TIDE!

*I want to dedicate this post to the Vaughan family. It was their passion that led me to Roll Tide! Thank you. 


5. Glen Coffee

Beating LSU is always a big deal.

I became an Alabama fan in 2007, after an American family I lived with as a teenager introduced me to their alma mater - the University of Alabama. Up until then I only followed the NFL on a weekly basis. Yet their passion for "Bama", which I heard about at the dinner table, was contagious. It didn't take long for me to swear allegiance and turn my attention to college football. And there to welcome me was an exciting running back by the name of Glen Coffee. 

Seeing highlights of Coffee's standout performance against Houston on homecoming weekend (2007) was special. Coffee ran for 121 yards and looked like a beast. It was then that I saw his potential and became a bonafide Coffee addict! It didn't matter that he sat out for a number of games in 2007, that highlight reel performance against Houston had me hooked. 

In 2008, Coffee became Bama's #1 back - with Ingram and Upchurch in the wings, played all 14 games and averaged a whopping 5.4 yards per carry. After every game, I would search for Coffee highlights and hit play on LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out!

If you haven't seen Coffee's 87-yard monster run against Arkansas in 2008, then do yourself a favour and click here.

Coffee also starred in what is still one of the most impressive Iron Bowl victories I've seen - the 38-0 blitzkrieg Bama dropped on arch-rival Auburn in 2008. 

Before there was Ingram, Lacy, Richardson, Yeldon or Henry, there was Coffee! And while I never saw Shaun Alexander tear it up in Crimson, #38 possessed the speed, strength and athleticism to regularly get me out of my seat!

It still blows my mind that Coffee made the jump from rushing for 545 yards in 2007 to exploding for 1,383 - and double-digit TDs - in 2008.

4. Trent Richardson

He was Heisman worthy!

THE JUKE SEEN ALL AROUND THE WORLD! Richardson's insane juke on Ole Miss in 2011 even made the news down here in Sydney, Australia. All I can remember from watching the game live was losing my mind! 

Richardson's delicious mix of brute strength - dude did work in the weight room - and elegant athleticism perfectly encapsulated my love for running backs. I appreciate a lot of positions that take to the gridiron, but nothing gets me going like a freakish running back.

The tandem of Mark Ingram and Richardson in 2009 was one of the most beautiful (football) sights I've seen. Heisman-winner Ingram rushed for 1,658 yards in '09, while the freshman RB rushed for 751 yards, including 109 yards (+ 2 TDs) in the National Championship game against Texas! In other words, Richardson grew up quick and didn't waste time impressing on the biggest stage.

Signs weren't as bright after a down season in 2010, where Richardson rushed for 700 yards and 6 rushing TDs. If doubts were raised heading into 2011, however, Trent quickly dispelled them as he went on to match Shaun Alexander's streak of six consecutive 100-yard rushing games. 

When Trent torched Florida for 181 rushing yards, 2 TDs and averaged 6.2 yards per carry, I was ready to crown Trent as Ingram's worthy Heisman successor. How Trent didn't win the Heisman after the season he had in 2011 - he ran 203 yards in the Iron Bowl - is beyond me. I still reckon voters just didn't want to reward another Bama RB so soon after Ingram's 2009 win. (OK, RGIII and Luck did have outstanding seasons...)

Trent got the last laugh, though, as he lifted his second National Championship trophy in 2012 with Bama and scored a TD in his final collegiate game.

Note: I know much of Trent Richardson's shine has faded due to his less-than-impressive NFL career. This is disappointing as his stellar college career ought to be remembered and reflected on fondly. Hopefully, folks will come around.

3. TJ Yeldon 

Yeldon gave me a lot to yell about!

"Yeldon's gonna give us something to yell about!" 

That's what I'd chant before games in 2013. I was so impressed with Yeldon's high-flying game that my beautiful wife bought me a #4 Bama jersey for Christmas in 2014. (Note: On our second date, Claire came over to the sharehouse I was living in and we watched the 2012 National Championship game together. What a dame, hey?)

What stood out about Yeldon, other than his impressive rushing numbers during his freshman and sophomore seasons, is that he was a different kind of running back. Where other Bama greats were hardnosed, run between the tackles and apply the bulldozer technique, TJ used his elite footwork and danced his way into gaps before trusting his turbo speed.

If you check out this highlight reel - fast forward to 2:22 - then you'll see what I'm talking about. Bama was playing Mississippi State, who were no pushovers, and even when Bama had a 24 point lead in the 3rd, Yeldon was dancing and juking defenders out of their cleats. You'll see his trademark hop and juke before Daphne's #1 son gained the first down and more. This kind of carry often deflated opposition sides (and opposing fans) and allowed Bama's stout defence to finish the job.


2. Derrick Henry

Built like a linebacker!

"Crown him Heisman Henry IX!"

Yes, I spent a lot of time on social media in 2015 campaigning for Derrick Henry to win the Heisman trophy!

Henry's 2015 season was just magical. If he was overshadowed by LSU's Leonard Fournette early in the season, it didn't last long. Even before Bama dismantled Fournette and LSU on November 7th - Fournette had a pitiful 31 yards, 1.6 per carry - Henry was putting distance between himself and the LSU's legitimate beast. (Henry ran for 210 yards against LSU. It has to be said that Bama's 2015 offensive line was NFL-worthy, though.) 

Are you ready for Henry's 2015 stat that ought to blow your mind? 28 rushing touchdowns! You might also want to consider the quality of the teams Bama faced. Christian McCaffrey, who finished second in Heisman voting, rushed for 8 TDs.

Stats aside, what tickled my soul about Henry is that he got better as games progressed. Seriously, go watch highlights and check the box scores. Henry looked like he was running downhill in the second half of games. Henry actually averaged the most yards per carry in the fourth quarter of games in his Heisman season. A great example of this came against Auburn, when Alabama's final 14 plays consisted of hand-offs to #2.

PS. How about Henry IX's 156 rushing yards against the Chiefs (NFL) last weekend!


1. Mark Ingram Jr.

The first time I saw Bama lift the trophy!

It's hard for me to believe that someone ousted Derrick Henry for #1. That's how good Ingram was, though. The first Bama jersey I bought was the #22...

In many ways, I wasn't learned enough to truly understand how brilliant #22 was in Crimson. I saw the 2009 SEC Championship game against then-undefeated Florida - a thorn in Bama's side - and was able to recognise Ingram's ability to carry the team when the Gators were chomping at the bit. I just don't think I was able to fully appreciate the hurdles that Bama overcame during Ingram's sophomore/Heisman season. 

It was Ingram's touchdown at the start of the second quarter of the National Championship (Texas led 6-0) that had me chanting the Heisman winner's name. Then, as if on cue, Ingram ran for his second TD after Texas had scored 14 unanswered points. This put the National Championship game on ice, and it was fitting that #22 answered the call.

What also endears me to #22 is his continued love for the Crimson Tide. We often see Ingram on the sideline cheering on the team and laughing with fellow alums. He doesn't appear to be a diva or untouchable. In fact, Ingram recently penned a piece for The Players Tribune:

This is your time to shine. Point blank. The floor is yours. Everything is sitting out there for you right now. All you need to do is go out and grab it. You have an opportunity to do something special, something you’ve been dreaming about since you were a little kid.

But you’re ready. All of you. This team is ready.

Don’t let the stage be too big, or get caught up in what’s going on outside your locker room. Just follow your coaches, do your job, and leave everything you have out there on the field with your brothers. If you do that, I can tell you that special things will follow.

I’ll also tell you this: I’ll be right there watching it all go down — front and center, rocking my crimson gear, showing the love. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.