Alabama football: 5 most overrated players in program history

As it is with many position groups under Nick Saban, the running back position is one where seemingly any ball carrier can have success. One player whose football career went from a meteoric rise to a cataclysmic fall was Trent Richardson. He went from a Heisman Trophy finalist to an NFL practice squad player in four years.

Richardson played for the Crimson Tide from 2009-2011. He helped Alabama secure two national titles over that span, including his junior season. Richardson was a unanimous All-American and took home the Doak Walker in 2011. This parlayed into him being the No. 3 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. He could not have been slower as an NFL bell-cow back.

Not even two years into his Browns career, he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts. Despite being on the 2014 Colts that made the AFC Championship Game, he did not play in Indianapolis’ final two playoff games that year. After that, he was relegated to a practice squad player before going to the CFL and briefly to the AAF in 2019.

In the years since he took home the Doak Walker, Richardson is only viewed as the third-best running back of the Saban era behind a pair of Heisman Trophy winners in Mark Ingram Jr. and Derrick Henry. Josh Jacobs is off to a great start with the Las Vegas Raiders. T.J. Yeldon had longevity in the NFL. Najee Harris looks to be next. Richardson is quickly being forgotten.