Kalen DeBoer doesn’t have an answer for Jam Miller’s lack of carries despite comments about his health earlier in the week
Alabama once again struggled to run the football, but the team didn’t even try to play its starter.
The Alabama Crimson Tide continued its trend of struggling to run the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers. A trend that mirrors some of the losses over the last two seasons, it was one thing when Alabama was down big to not try and establish the run.
But through much of the first half and even into the second, Alabama could have still tried to get the ground going. The team didn’t. But what’s even more puzzling is that all week you heard about how healthy Alabama was going to be in this game. A big player in that equation was supposed to be Jam Miller. Well, Alabama treated that game as if Miller wasn’t even there.
Jam Miller recorded zero carries against Indiana
“Oh, you know, I’m good now, healthy,” said Miller via the Alabama Crimson Tide YouTube Channel earlier this week. “We got a great training staff here, you know. So I did a lot of training, you know, just get my body ready, you know, just get ready, prepare.”
Miller ended the game with just one reception for one yard. Hoping that Kalen DeBoer would add context to why his starting back, who said he was fully healthy, didn’t play, my hopes were not met as no one asked DeBoer after the game. So instead, I asked A to Z Sports Alabama contributor Josh Taylor what he thought about the lack of touches for Miller.
“The decision to not play Jam Miller in the run game is certainly a head scratcher. Yes, Hill is probably the best back right now, but nothing was working on the ground, and it hasn’t for a few weeks now. It’s not like Miller was hurt because we saw him in pass protection and in the passing game, but he didn’t have a single rushing attempt as the more experienced back. The lack of a run game has put all of the pressure on Ty Simpson’s shoulder week after week, and it’s been the ultimate downfall of Alabama’s offense. I get that this is a new regime compared to the past, but Deboer and Grubb needed to run the ball more consistently as Alabama has in the past.” – Taylor
Alabama Crimson Tide News
Ty Simpson’s benching in the Rose Bowl jump-starts major question mark about the future of the quarterback position at Alabama
Alabama’s loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl comes with plenty of questions, but none are bigger than the quarterback position.
