Nick Saban weighs in on performance of running back Brian Robinson

Alabama head coach Nick Saban on Saturday was highly complimentary of Brian Robinson Jr., the Crimson Tide’s redshirt senior running back who took 15 carries for 78 yards and a rushing touchdown, as well as one reception for seven yards and a receiving touchdown.

“He did a really good job in the game,” Saban said of Robinson. “He got banged up a little bit in the end, bruised his ribs or something. But I think he’ll be OK. I thought he played really well in the game, strong running. I thought [backup running back Jase McClellan] played really well in the game, too. I thought those two guys really did an outstanding job.”

Alabama faced a stiff Florida rush defense on Saturday. Robinson’s 78 carries featured a long of 23 yards, but he was held close to the line of scrimmage for many of his second-half opportunities. McCellan, similarly, was unable to muster up any long-distance rushes, as he finished with nine carries for 17 yards.

Robinson, a native of Tuscaloosa, has seen no more than 15 carries in a game this season, with his season-high coming on Saturday. Against Mercer in Week 2, he rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on ten carries, and against then-No. 14-ranked Miami in Week 1, he rushed for 60 yards on 12 carries.

Robinson has gotten the bulk of Alabama’s carries through three games, with McClellan largely being used as a backup running back. McClellan, a 5-foot-11, 212-pound sophomore is smaller than the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Robinson, and Saban has used him as a change-of-pace back. McClellan has logged 22 carries through three games, good for 66 yards and a touchdown, and he’s been utilized much more in the passing game, with eight receptions for 77 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Saban has complimented Robinson in the past, too, as the fifth-year senior has had to wait in line for the Crimson Tide, serving as the backup to a number of Alabama running backs before finally cracking the starting lineup.

“[Brian Robinson] has really done an outstanding job, I think. He’s been here for five years. Four those years he played but he was never the [main] guy,” Saban said. “He played on special teams. He played some backup role. He got some opportunity, probably not as much as he would like. Then I think he made a tough decision, you know, to say I wanna come back. I want to play. I know I can get much more of an opportunity to show what I can do. I think so far this year, he’s done a really, really good job of that.”

Robinson rushed for just 165 yards and 272 yards in 2017 and 2018, two seasons in which he mainly received garbage-time minutes at the end of blowout games. In 2019 and 2020, however, he became a more frequent contributor to the Alabama offense, logging 96 carries for 441 yards and five touchdowns, then 91 carries for 483 yards and six touchdowns.