Tag: Jase McClellan

Alabama star running back’s status in doubt for SEC championship

Alabama football is expected be without its leading rusher in the SEC championship versus Georgia

Alabama Crimson Tide running back Jase McClellan may be out for the 2023 SEC championship game against Georgia. McClellan, who has been dealing with a foot issue for most of the year, aggravated his injury against Auburn.

McClellan is Alabama’s leading rusher. He has 803 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 166 carries this season. If McClellan is forced to miss the Georgia game, look for Roydell Williams to see the majority of the action in  the talented Alabama backfield.

The Crimson Tide also have talented depth at running back: Jam Miller, Justice Haynes and Richard Young.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban updated McClellan’s status after the Auburn game.

He’s had a little foot injury all year long. He tweaked it in the game. He’ll be day to day this week. I can’t tell you how much progress he’ll make. Probably the next 48 hours will tell us whether he’ll make the kind of progress he needs to be able to practice some and play in the game.

Those 48 hours were not kind to McClellan’s hopes of playing in the SEC title game.

Georgia has a significant number of injuries going into the SEC championship. Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson is likely out with a broken forearm. Tight end Brock Bowers missed the Georgia Tech game with an ankle issue, but may be able to play against Alabama.

Wide receivers Ladd McConkey (ankle/back) and Rara Thomas (foot) are both questionable. Offensive guard Tate Ratledge is also questionable with a knee injury he suffered against Tennessee.

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. Alabama

The Alabama Crimson Tide are nearly two-touchdown favorites to win the Iron Bowl. Does the Tale of the Tape say this game will be closer?

The 6-5 Auburn Tigers finish the regular season on Saturday when they play host to the 10-1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.

Auburn is coming off its worst loss of the season, and maybe the decade, last week in a 31-10 beatdown against New Mexico State.

On the other side, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Tide have been playing great football since an early-season loss to Texas, giving them an outside chance at the College Football Playoff.

Despite the last three Iron Bowls at Jordan-Hare being decided by an average of 6 points, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]‘s squad is a 13.5-point favorite to improve to 10-1 according to Bet MGM. 

ESPN FPI seemingly agrees with the oddsmakers, as the model gives Alabama an 85.8% chance to keep their playoff hopes alive on Saturday.

Will the tale of the tape tell us this game is going to be closer than expected, or is Alabama going to roll to another Iron Bowl victory?

As always, we’ll start with the quarterbacks.

Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has had himself a roller coaster season more inconsistent than the food truck locations on campus.

The junior played well in team’s 3-game win streak to open the year, then struggled for about a month before finding his footing at the end of October.

Thorne averaged nearly 213 yards and 3 touchdowns per game in Auburn wins over Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State, leading many people to believe the offense had found life heading into the home stretch of the season.

That belief fizzled last week, as Thorne threw for just 148 yards and 1 touchdown in the team’s loss to New Mexico State. The Tigers quarterback was also sacked 4 times.

Alabama quarterback [autotag]Jalen Milroe [/autotag] has had a similar type of “roller coaster” season. The sophomore opened the season with accuracy issues, and while he’s figured out some, Milroe still struggles to throw the ball at times.

The difference between Milroe and Thorne lies in their rushing ability. While the Alabama quarterback has only rushed for 332 yards, he’s collected 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 19 passing scores.

Those 31 total touchdowns account for nearly double of [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag]’s 17 total scores.

The clear quarterback edge goes to Milroe and the Crimson Tide.

Alabama also holds the edge in the position player battle.

While Auburn running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] has been great this season, rushing for 772 yards and 7 scores, his presence isn’t enough to break through the rolling tide of offensive firepower on the Alabama side.

Quarterback [autotag]Jalen Milroe[/autotag] has done much of the heavy lifting in the red zone, but Tide running backs [autotag]Jase McClellan[/autotag] and [autotag]Roydell Williams[/autotag] have been great in-between the 20s.

The tandem has rushed for 1,204 yards this season, on nearly 5.3 yards per carry. The duo gets the slight edge over Hunter.

The real difference lies in the receiving core on the offensive side of the ball, as Alabama senior [autotag]Jermaine Burton[/autotag] is easily the best pass-catcher in this game.

Burton’s 642 receiving yards just about equal the recieving yards of the top 2 Tigers pass catchers, [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag] (349) and [autotag]Jay Fair[/autotag] (300).

The Crimson Tide get the edge across the offense.

The gap is closer of defense, but Alabama still gets the edge.

[autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]’s defensive unit is about as stout as stout can get. They’ve held opponents to just over 17 points per game this season which has led them to the fifth-highest defensive efficiency ranking according to ESPN FPI.

Auburn’s unit has been great for much of the season too, but struggled mightily against New Mexico State last week.

[autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen McCleod[/autotag], and the Tigers defense have held opponents to just under 21.5 points per game and they rank 19th in defensive efficiency.

The defensive gap is close, and with Auburn having the home field advantage, I’m going to call it a wash for this Iron Bowl.

 

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BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN: Alabama stat leaders from win over Tennessee

Alabama’s comeback win over Tennessee is HUGE for the Tide. See the stat leaders and more!

Alabama football looked out of it in the first half against Tennessee but came out of halftime firing. Overcoming a 13-point deficit at halftime, the Tide ended up winning 34-20.

The second half for the Crimson Tide was airtight. The defense was stellar, shutting out the Vols in the third and fourth quarters, while the offense kept the ball moving, even hanging to find the end zone a few times.

Next up for Alabama will be LSU at home, but the team has the weekend off and will have time to rest and prepare for an SEC West showdown.

Here are the stat leaders from the Tide’s comeback win over the Vols.

Roll Tide Wire’s Week 8 Player of the Game

Jase McClellan was the difference maker for the Tide in their 34-20 victory over Tennessee

It took a total team effort for the Alabama Crimson Tide to get past the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday afternoon, but I walked away from the game as impressed with the Tide as I have at any point this season. Facing a 13-point halftime deficit, Alabama responded in the second half by shutting out the Vols en route to a 27-0 run to end the game.

Not only were they able to overcome the largest deficit of the Saban era, but they played the best football they have all year. Jalen Milroe made some big-time throws in the second half and Jihaad Campbell scored on a fumble recovery, but Jase McClellan was the X-factor for the Crimson Tide tonight.

McClellan came up big for the Tide as he carried the ball 27 times for 115 yards and a score, but it felt like any time needed a third or fourth and short he was able to convert. Neither Milroe nor Roydell Williams could find any traction on the ground as they combined to carry the ball 15 times for 23 yards which made McClellan’s contribution that much more significant.

The Tide head into a much-needed bye week as they will square up with the LSU Tigers for the SEC West on Nov. 4.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Texas RB Jonathon Brooks is the leader in missed tackles forced this season

According to PFF, Jonathon Brooks leads the nation in missed tackles forced this season. Here’s a look at the top five.

Texas running back Jonathon Brooks has had an impressive first half of the 2023 college football season. Continue reading “Texas RB Jonathon Brooks is the leader in missed tackles forced this season”

Alabama leads Mississippi State 31-10 at the half in Starkville

Alabama’s strong performance has guided the Tide to a 31-10 lead over Mississippi State at the half

After a near-disastrous start offensivily with bad snaps and a couple of sacks, the Alabama offensive line took over the contest to help propel the Crimson Tide to a 24-10 lead over the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the half.

[autotag]Jalen Milroe[/autotag] would get the scoring started for Alabama with a blazing 53-yard touchdown run and on the next possession the Crimson Tide defense would get their first score of the season thanks to a pick-six from outside linebacker Chris Braswell.

After trading field goals, Mississippi State would battle back with a touchdown to close the gap to 17-10.

Alabama would answer with an impressive 12-play 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with a [autotag]Jase McClellan[/autotag] two-yard touchdown run.

On the ensuing possession, linebacker [autotag]Jihaad Campbell[/autotag] intercepted Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers which set up Milroe and the Alabama offense with a great opportunity to score again before the half.

Milroe and company would take advantage of the opportunity after the elusive quarterback scooted past Bulldog defenders for a 10-yard touchdown run to extend Alabama’s lead to 31-10.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 2 days

We are now just Jase McClellan days away from the start of Alabama’s 2023 football season!

The Alabama Crimson Tide will take the field for the 2023 college football season in 2 days, as Middle Tennessee State visits Bryant Denny Stadium on Sept. 2.

Here at Roll Tide Wire, we will be counting down the days until Nick Saban and his team take the field.

With 2 days remaining, we take a look at a current member of the Crimson Tide who wears No. 2, running back [autotag]Jase McClellan[/autotag].

McClellan is entering his senior season with Alabama and has been in the running back rotation since his freshman season in 2020. The Texas native is likely RB1 for the Crimson Tide this fall and should be in for a solid senior season in Tuscaloosa.

Jase McClellan’s Photo Gallery

Alabama RB Jase McClellan named to Maxwell Award watchlist

The Maxwell Award is given to the best all-around player in college football. A total of 5 Alabama players have won it in the past, could Jase be No. 6?

The Maxwell Award recognizes the best player in college football, to even be named on the preseason watchlist is an honor. Expectations are high for everyone who’s on this list and expected to be in contention for the award. A wide range of different positions and programs are represented on this list.

Alabama running back Jase McClellan made the watchlist and hopes to join an elite list of former Crimson Tide stars.

In 2013, Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron won it, then running back Derrick Henry in 2015, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa won it in 2018 and DeVonta Smith and Bryce Young won it in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow McClellan as the 2023 college football season approaches.

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

5 reasons to be confident in the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide

There are certainly questions that still need to be answered, but here are five reasons to be optimistic about the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide.

In just about two months, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide will take the field against Middle Tennessee State to begin the 2023 football season.

This has been quite the offseason for the Tide, legendary players Bryce Young and Will Anderson have moved on to the NFL, both of Alabama’s coordinators were replaced, and all of this is coming after Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide missed out on the College Football Playoff for just the second time since its inception.

Instead of focusing on all of the unknown, let’s take a look at five reasons to feel confident in the 2023 version of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama’s running back room ranked in the top ten of college football

Alabama football expected to have one of the most talented running back rooms in 2023

Alabama’s dynasty was originally built on an elite running game and dominant offensive lines. Over the past couple of years, however, they have gotten away from that identity.

Granted, the Tide had a solid run of NFL quarterbacks in Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young, but the key to success in 2023 will be getting back to the ground game. Alabama has had some incredibly special talent at the position in guys like Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Jahmyr Gibbs and so many more.

It will be no easy task trying to replace the Tide’s leading rusher from the 2022 season in Gibbs, as he led the way with 151 carries as well as tacking on 44 receptions which also led the team. Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams will both find bigger roles in the offense this season. McClellan had 112 rushing attempts for 655 yards and seven scores while Williams had 56 carries for 250 yards and four scores.

There are also sky-high expectations for incoming freshman Justice Haynes who is a four-star recruit and was ranked as the second RB in the 2023 recruiting cycle. However, people in Tuscaloosa seem to believe that Haynes could be the Tide’s leading back by the end of the season. Haynes played varsity all four years of high school and posted a mind-boggling 777 carries, 7,407 yards, and 91 touchdowns.

Between McClellan, Williams and Haynes the Alabama faithful should have high hopes for this position group. Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus also holds the Crimson Tide running back room in high regard as he ranks them as one of the ten best in college football alongside fellow SEC foes Arkansas and Georgia.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.