
T.J. Yeldon has been making headlines for a while now.
Even before he became the first Alabama true freshman to top 100 yards (111) rushing in his first game during Alabama’s season-opening win over Michigan, Yeldon was the talk of Bama’s spring game with his 179 total yards and a touchdown.
Before that, Yeldon made headlines as a prep star. As a running back at Daphne High School in Daphne, Ala., he accumulated 4,653 yards on the ground and 65 rushing touchdowns. He also had 1,502 receiving yards and eight scores as a receiver. In four years, Yeldon had 6,155 yards from scrimmage and scored 73 touchdowns.
He then became big news in June of 2011 when Yeldon announced he would attend Auburn. Auburn fans were overjoyed. He then made even bigger news in December when he de-committed from Auburn and announced he would attend the University of Alabama.
The Twitter world erupted. Auburn fans reacted indignantly that Yeldon would turn his back on Auburn. Alabama fans were euphoric that the five-star prospect and second team USA Today All-American would be coming to Tuscaloosa … and not going to the Crimson Tide’s biggest rival.
Yeldon then introduced himself to college football world on the biggest stage — in Alabama’s 41-14 win over Michigan in the season’s first game. Yeldon’s first carry went for 14 yards and the true freshman was off and running. His last carry came in the fourth quarter and it was a special one. Yeldon scored his first collegiate touchdown from 1-yard out, and he finished with 111 yards on 11 carries.
“T.J. did a good job, but we had total faith, trust and confidence in T.J.,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said afterward. “If Eddie (Lacy) couldn’t have gone, T.J. was going to start. We knew T.J. was going to get a lot of opportunity in this game because Eddie’s coming off an ankle sprain. T.J. did a really good job.”
Now the 6-foot-2, 216-pounder looks ready to take his place in line waiting to be the next great Alabama running back in the mold of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. This season, Eddie Lacy moved into the featured back role in the absence of Richardson.
Saban’s plan for the running back rotation this season was Lacy, Jalston Fowler, Dee Hart and Yeldon. But Lacy has been bothered off and on by a bad ankle and Fowler was recently lost to a season-ending knee injury. And, in an unforeseen development, Yeldon has moved up in the rotation. He gives Alabama another solid option if Lacy has more unforeseen problems with his injury.
Yeldon followed the Michigan game up with 25 yards on six carries against Western Kentucky and 55 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries against Arkansas. He added 63 yards on 10 carries against Florida Atlantic. He now has 254 yards on 40 carries, an average of 6.4 yards per carry. In just a short time, Yeldon is proving to be something special, just like his teammates thought he would be.
“I think it was the play he ran 50 yards down the field, the first one,” right guard Anthony Steen said. “When we got in the huddle, we all were smiling, and we knew what was about to happen.”
What was about to happen was that Yeldon was elevating his place in the rotation of Alabama running backs. Yeldon is now leading the Crimson Tide in rushing even while serving as a backup. He is 15th in the SEC in rushing.
It is a good year for freshmen running backs in the conference. Yeldon is the fourth leading freshman rusher in the SEC behind Georgia running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, who are also true freshmen, and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, who specializes in running the football as well as throwing it.
Gurley and Marshall have logged plenty of playing time since Georgia went into the season without last year’s leading rusher, Isaiah Crowell, who was kicked off the team.
“Everything I’ve seen from him so far has been outstanding,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said after Gurley’s first game. “I don’t think he would mind anyone knowing that he got a couple A’s this summer in the classes he took. He’s been showing up to everything that we ask him to, and he does it on time and prepared. He’s had a good attitude, and he doesn’t seem to have any type of entitlement issues. But if a guy starts having a lot of success early, it can maybe change him or make him feel too comfortable too soon. I haven’t sat down with him and talked, but we will keep an eye on him.”
Defenses around the conference are keeping an eye on Gurley, who leads the SEC with an average of 101.5 yards per game. Marshall, Gurley’s running mate, is averaging 66 yards a game, giving the Bulldogs a total of 167.5 yards per game out of its dynamic rookie duo.
Yeldon may not put up the numbers of a Gurley, but he has the advantage of having an Lacy and Hart on hand to help out with the carries. Yeldon has logged his 40 carries thanks in part to Saban protecting Lacy’s work load because of his ankle. But mostly it is Yeldon’s performance that has demanded he get more work. He now has 40 carries, second on the team to Lacy’s 45.
Yeldon is serving his time now as the featured back-up running back just as Richardson did to Ingram. When it comes his time to move up, Yeldon has given every indication he will be up to the challenge. And with freshmen making up four of the top 15 rushers in the Southeastern Conference, it is safe to say that a few teams in the league are in good shape at tailback for the next few years.