Kalen DeBoer walked away from Alabama’s 45-17 win at Kentucky believing the Crimson Tide’s run game was already showing up. Daniel Hill felt the same way.
The box score, though, told a messier story early on.
Alabama managed just 34 sack-adjusted rushing yards on 12 carries in the first half, and most of that came from Hill’s 16-yard run at the end of the second quarter. With the ground game bogged down, Keelon Russell had to lean on the passing attack and tried to push the ball downfield, a gamble that helped lead to three first-half turnovers, including two interceptions.
Then the game flipped. Once Alabama’s defense shut Kentucky down and kept the Wildcats scoreless after halftime, the Tide’s rushing attack finally found its rhythm. Alabama backs averaged 6.3 yards per carry in the second half, and the team’s top three backs - Hill, EJ Crowell and Trae'shawn Brown - each scored a rushing touchdown.
By the end of the day, Alabama’s backs had piled up 155 yards on 40 carries.
“We got behind the chains with penalties in the first half,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We got sacked a couple of times.
It felt like there was some execution that was happening where there were some lanes. Sometimes when you give the quarterback the green light to have the RPOs and you see that it was blocked up well, you live with that.
Just trying to continue to balance that. I felt like the run game was there in the first half.
It didn't maybe show up on the scoreboard or stat sheet, but as the second half went along, I think they kept some of the pressure off Keelon.”
Russell saw it the same way. For him, Hill’s 104-yard performance helped unlock everything else around the offense.
“It made the whole offense confident,” Russell said.
Hill, meanwhile, said after Week 1 that Alabama’s running backs are carrying a chip on their shoulder and feel like they have something to prove every time they take the field. That mindset showed again in Lexington, where Hill, Crowell and Brown all had their moments.
“I feel like the whole running back room is full of playmakers,” Hill said. “You can throw anybody in there and they will make a play no matter what.”
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