Report: Robert Gillespie set to become new RB coach for Alabama

Alabama has found its replacement for Charles Huff. North Carolina’s Robert Gillespie is coming over to coach the RBs in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama continues to rebuild its coaching staff after a slew of departures. Of course, that’s part of winning a national championship, and Nick Saban has a fantastic track record of reloading the staff.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t a headache, however. But the good news is that it looks like the Crimson Tide have found a new running backs coach. According to Bruce Feldman with The Athletic, it will be Robert Gillespie from North Carolina.

The move was desperately needs after associate head coach/running backs coach Charles Huff left to take the head coaching gig at Marshall. He had been in Tuscaloosa for two seasons after coming over form Mississippi State.

Gillespie has done fantastic work for the Tar Heels. He spent three seasons in Chapel Hill, and the results were impressive. His first year was somewhat underwhelming, but look the stats for Michael Carter and Javonte Williams over the last two:

  • Carter: 2,248 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns
  • Javonte Williams: 2,073 rushing yards, 24 touchdowns

The two combined for 2,385 yards and 28 touchdowns in only 11 games in 2020, and they also added another 572 yards and five scores as receivers out of the backfield.

Prior to his time at North Carolina, Gillespie was at the University of Tennessee. There, he worked with running backs such as Alvin Kamara, Jalen Hurd and John Kelly.

Gillespie should be an excellent replacement for Huff.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Roll Tide Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Alabama vs. Georgia named ‘best rivalry game of 2020’

And according to Bleacher Report, Alabama vs. Georgia is going to be the best rivalry game of 2020.

The 2020 college football season is going to be interesting for many reasons: the conference only schedules, the players getting to choose to opt out, the BIG 10 and PAC 12 cancelling their season, and so on.

For the SEC, this season has the chance to be one of the best seasons yet?

Why?

Each and every week is going to be an epic showdown.

For Alabama, there are several big games for the Tide: LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, and Georgia.

And according to Bleacher Report, Alabama vs. Georgia is going to be the best rivalry game of 2020.

Here’s what Bleacher Report had to say about the matchup:

“Clemson will probably settle in at No. 1 nationally, but Alabama and Georgia are expected to follow right behind. The third weekend of October may feature a Top Three showdown.

In all likelihood, Alabama will topple Missouri, Texas A&M and Ole Miss to open the year. Texas A&M is really the only threat. The bigger question, perhaps, is whether Mac Jones or star freshman Bryce Young will be leading the offense at this point.

Given that outlook, Georgia faces a more pressing issue.

While finding out how well USC transfer JT Daniels rebounds from a knee injury, the Dawgs host Auburn and Tennessee in the first three weeks of the season. Georgia has no time to waste, and Alabama is a heck of a roadblock in mid-October.

The best-case scenario for Georgia is improving to 4-0 with a statement of superiority. But an earlier letdown could drop a preseason favorite into the dreaded two-loss category.”

Besides this matchup, Alabama also has two more matchups ranked in the top 10: Alabama vs. LSU (ranked the No. 2 matchup), and Alabama vs. Auburn (ranked No. 6).

When you take a moment to think about the SEC teams on Alabama’s schedule: Georgia, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M, and Auburn, Alabama will truly have one of, if not the hardest, schedule in the country.

5 of the teams on Alabama’s schedule now were ranked in the top 25 of the The Amway Coaches Poll.

If Alabama finds a way to win the SEC West, and the SEC Championship, there’s no way anyone can argue against Alabama being back in the College Football Playoff.

And that’s exactly one of the goals this Alabama team has this season: make it back to the CFB Playoff.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]