Alabama football will steamroll defenses if it can replicate early A-Day rushing

Jam Miller laughed once he finished answering.

The question: Would the Alabama football running back rather juke a defender or run through him?

"I'd rather run through a guy," he said without hesitation. Cue the laugh.

It was a chuckle wrapped not in humor but in eagerness. Miller laughed like a man who has fun pummeling defenders and couldn't wait to do it again.

Linebacker Deontae Lawson knows that all too well. He had to defend the running backs Saturday during the A-Day game like he does in practice.

"You've got to come every play," Lawson said. "If you don't come, they're going to catch you."

Miller and the backs showed it at Bryant-Denny Stadium during the spring game. The running game proved tough to stop early, putting the offense up 31-0 to start A-Day under new coach Kalen DeBoer. The offense eventually held on to win 34-28 in a game with an irregular scoring system where the defense could score points.

The running game finished with 206 yards on 42 carries, an average of 4.9 yards per carry, with four rushing touchdowns. Those numbers would have been even better if not for the offense fading some in the second half of the scrimmage.

"I thought (the running backs) did a better job, when they saw a hole today, they hit it," DeBoer said. "Especially early on, there were some seams. They’re not dancing, which means they’re getting more and more comfortable with the schemes."

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Miller took advantage of openings like no other running back in the game. He showed burst and wasted no time dashing through holes. He ran for 48 yards on one carry during the fifth drive of the game. Then Miller capped the series with his second rushing touchdown. He finished the day with eight carries for 83 yards and two scores.

"It felt great to be able to go out there and have a game-like style that we had today, A-Day," Miller said. "It was great to get into the open field and just … run."

He wasn't the only one. Sure, Miller had the most notable day, but Richard Young and Justice Haynes flashed at times too. Young rushed seven times for 29 yards and one touchdown. Haynes saw three carries for 10 yards and scored once.

Young was especially impressive on the second drive. He ran through some players for a gain of nine yards early in the drive. Then when he scored his touchdown, he sidestepped one player then ran through another into the end zone.

"We just know how talented the running backs we have are," guard Tyler Booker said. "All we have to do is give them a little bit of space. They can do a lot with it. Just being able to run the ball dominantly in the first half was great for us. We just have to be able to be consistent and carry over that momentum to the second half."

If Alabama can capture the early rushing success it saw Saturday — gashing the defense and breaking tackles — opposing defenses will have to buckle up come fall.

These running backs can run past you, but they will also run through you. In fact, that might be the preference. Just ask Miller.

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.