Alabama football breakout candidate No. 3: Trey Sanders, RB
Make no mistake about it, Najee Harris is the bell cow back for the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2020 season. His decision to return for another year of college football is massively important for this team. As they make a switch at quarterback, there’s no question that Saban will likely revert, at least to some degree, to his old ways of being a run-heavy offense that relies heavily on Harris toting the rock.
While that may be true, whenever Alabama has been a run-oriented offense, they have often utilized multiple backs. That’s one of the benefits of being a program of this caliber is that there are always highly talented players waiting in the wings who Saban and the coaching staff can count on as reliable depth pieces. And that’s where Trey Sanders can come into play.
There were plenty of people who expected Sanders to start making a name for himself last season as someone who could challenge Brian Robinson, who is also returning for 2020 with Harris, for carries as the No. 2 running back on the depth chart. Unfortunately, Sanders suffered a foot injury in the lead-up to the 2019 campaign that ended up costing him the entire year.
Now healthy, Sanders shouldn’t be forgotten about. He was the No. 1 overall running back in the 2019 recruiting class, meaning he’s simply a more gifted talent than Robinson as he vies for a role in this offense. If Alabama is indeed more reliant on their rushing attack, Sanders has the opportunity to flash as a star and the next big thing at running back for the Crimson Tide as the secondary option behind Harris.