Trey Sanders

He got hurt and then was in a bad car wreck.

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Sanders was injured in a car crash.

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I think it was an almost died might never walk situation.

But yeah Bama has busted on a ton of RBs in the last 7 or so years.

WR is worse though. We went from 2018 to Ryan Williams without signing any impact guys. I’m not sure if that was on our analysts or the OCs but the drop off in our hit rate at the skill positions was wild.

Sanders was really beginning to come into his own and was becoming a force when he was involved in a car wreck that almost cost him his life. Sanders’ injuries prevented him from having the same physical ability he had pre-accident. He had a tremendous amount of talent, and if memory serves correct, he was either the # 1 or # 2 rb in the country coming out of high school. He was in the same class year as Evan Neal.

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Who were you surprised by from years past?

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I recall being blown away when the Bama RB room was Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, Kenyan Drake, Dee Hart, Tyren Jones, Altee Tenpenny, Jalston Fowler, Trey Roberts, and some guy named uhh,... oh yeah, TJ Yeldon.

People in the recruiting world were melting all over themselves that Saban was able to sign all those guys. It's truly remarkable.

Coming out of HS I thought Tyren Jones had as much upside as anyone in the country- he was a total beast in HS and had all the tools. He was a typical Ga kid though and couldn't stay out of trouble.

Alvin Kamara was hard to figure out, but obviously went on to prove he was one of the best RB prospects of the decade. He was a unique individual, and had an elite blend of talent from speed, sudden, vision, hands, etc. he was a HR waiting to happen when he touched the ball.

Derrick Henry I personally thought from his unbelievable HS film was simply the best LB I had ever seen in my life playing RB, but his talent and determination proved to be one of the greatest RB's of all time at both college and nfl levels. The King of them all, and obviously a future HOFer. The toughest RB I've ever seen play in my lifetime. You could watch defenders wear down against him and lose their will to try to tackle him, and he would literally get stronger at carries 20-30. An unstoppable force. He was ALWAYS the first player off the ground after a physical run, and he NEVER held his leg, or limped off the field, or even seemingly broke a sweat... the most clear example of a cyborg to ever play RB

Drake was an excellent back that went on to have a long NFL career, and played such an important role in defeating Clemson in a title game with kick return TD made possible by his elite sprint speed. Good hands. Broke his leg and his arm and came back from both even better than before. Drake was the glue in the locker room for years seemingly loved by all.

Dee Hart was a fan favorite but he couldn't stay healthy. He was a five star by some services, and ended up being the "bust" of the group, but we will never know what could have been if he had not kept tearing his knee up. He was tiny but had that tiny guy quick twitch that could make people miss in a phone booth.

Jalston Fowler out of Vigor was an amazing athlete. He grew out of RB, and into FB but he was easily the best FB/HB of the Saban era IMO he just couldn't stay healthy long for some fans to maybe remember how good he was. I remember the Vigor guys saying he was the best football player to ever come through there. All the physical tools and tough AF.

The huge shock of the group obviously was Altee Tenpenny and his situation. We'll never know. RIP

And then of course Mr. reliable when you had to have a play TJ Yeldon. Yeldon may not have been the fastest, biggest, most talented RB Bama had in those days but he did almost everything really well, and when we had to have a couple yards he almost always moved the sticks. He also caught the most famous screen pass in Bama history vs LSU that was a top ten moment of the Saban era.

Surprise you ask ? All those guys in the same RB room... yeah that was surprising, and though you knew it was only a matter of time before they started transferring it was fun as hell to watch it play out.

King Henry proved he was the KIng and he did it against a loaded RB room. Thank god he didn't transfer after Saban kept his arse on the bench his TF season.


Edit*

If you want to marvel at the amount of talent on the roster at this time just take a peak.

LOADED

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Brian Robinson was our last 1,000-yard rusher and that was 2021.

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How underrated was Brian Robinson? I think Bama fans really loved him while he was here, and loved his physicality and effort, the fact that he was a homegrown kid, but most viewed him as just that: a guy that didn't have elite talent, but his work ethic, and toughness made him a damn good RB. Fast forward to 2024 and the guy is a legit top 15 RB1 in the NFL.

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What the hell happened with him in 2023?

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Naysayers...

Has Titus Ryan signed yet?

Star Jackson...Eddie Williams...Tyler Love...BJ Scott...Alonzo Lawrence...Tana Patrick...Robert Foster...Dee Liner...David Cornwell...Blake Barnett...Ben Davis...BJ Emmons...Antonio Alfano

You just never know how guys are going to turn out...lots of 5 stars never do anything...another reason it's insane to be paying high school recruits.

But man...from 2008 to 2018 recruiting was super fun to follow. Now...not so much. Still want to be getting good talent...but not only will players not pan out, the ones that do can just leave anytime they want for an extra dollar. It's definitely sucked the fun out of it for me from the days when February signing day was a second Christmas morning.

With all the other things said about Derrick Henry he was amazingly fast for a guy that big. If he broke clear he was gone. Ohio State fans were saying Elliot was better than him when he won the Heisman. That argue has been put to rest.