Continuing on with the greatest Bama runners of all time, and the deepest position on the list is up. Since it is so deep, the list will be weeded down and I'm sure some will bark about the ones left off, but it is Quality over Quantity for me. The criteria is the same as the QBs, winning over stats. This will help cull out the likes of Shaud Williams, Murray Hill, and others. Again this list will be from the start of Coach Bryant's era to present day. Yes, if I chose to go back in time further, Bobby Marlow would be there. We have to keep it in fair parameters though.
The thing to remember also is that while there are a lot of good/great backs from the 60s and 70s, the QBs tend to be right there with the backs in rushing and touchdowns.
The List
Mike Fracchia- The first fullback on the list. He was a nice short option for Pat Trammell to use. As he matured as a player, his game improved to the point he was a 5 yard per carry fullback. He was a leader on Coach Bryant's first championship with Bama. He definately is worthy of mention at fullback.
Johnny Musso- If you start at the beginning, Musso is the first top end running back that Coach Bryant really had, and maybe even the first in school history. Pat Trammell, mentioned in the QB discussion, had been his work horse before Musso, but Musso was the real workhorse for the Bama 70s. His play in the early 70s set the tone for the domination that the Tide had during the decade. Musso if anything was just a smash mouth, pound it 4 quarters kinda guy. He was the 1st 1000 yard rusher in school history and is 4th on the all time rushing list, but anybody who watches him though will tell you he's in the top 3 easily. The way he runs and uses his legs to drive and keep tacklers off his hips is something that many players don't do today. If your son is a power runner, have him watch Musso. He's the textbook for power running.
Steve Bisceglia- Steve is forgotten in the lore of the running backs, but he was a heck of a runner in his own right, but he was overshadowed by Musso for most of his career and sharing ground with Wilber Jackson after Musso. He was a physical fullback that was a short yardage specialist in the 70s, but his short yardage was more like 4 yards, not 2. He and Musso made for a long day most Saturdays because they were abusive in their running styles. I'm not a big stat hound, but one stat that I love to see is the number of carries and how many yards lost for the year. In 1972, he had 125 carries (team high) and only lost 2 yards all year. That's the sign of a guy who always falls forward.
Wilbur Jackson - Speaking of guys who always go forward, meet Mr. Jackson. He was an understudy to Musso, but when his career was over, he was a man amongst boys in his own right. When he was finished, he had an average carry of 7.2 (still a school record), his game vs. UT in 73 is still a classic that he finished with over 160 yards rushing (80 on 1 TD) and helped lead the team to a dominating 524 total yards. He only was the feature back 1 year, 1973, but it was
Calvin Culliver- The first hybrid of the group. Culliver was part fullback part halfback in reality. He was as dangerous 5-6 yards back as he was 2-3 yards back. He was the leading rusher for the 74 SEC champion Tide and leading scorer that year. He averaged a nice 5.4 per carry for his career and holds the 4th longest TD run in Bama history (87 yards).
Randy Billingsley- Billingsley won't be up on the stat hound hall of fame, but stats are for fantasy football and people who live with their mothers. Football players have moments, and Billingsley is one of those guys that when you watch any classic Bama game, he stands out on the field.
Johnny Davis- Meet the most prolific "fullback" in Alabama History. He still ranks in the top 10 in rushing, and is a fixture on the rushing stat sheets over time. The mid 70s are all about Johnny Davis, 7 100 yard games, 2500 career yards, 19 TDs and most of all 3 SEC titles (damn Nebraska).
Tony Nathan- Nathan is one of those guys that when he got hot, he didn't stop and couldn't be stopped. He was the type of player that in the wishbone could only get 7-10 touches and have 150+ yards from it. Nathan's career is only overshadowed in the decade by Musso, not bad company to keep is it? He is 4th all time in touchdowns, finished his career with 1997 yards, and 3 SEC titles and 1 National Title to show for his efforts.
Major Ogilvie- The tandem of Ogilvie and Nathan is probably the greatest in school history. His stats are not legendary, but he was a heck of a steady ball player and a great leader (with many others) to the 3 SEC and 2 National Titles he has on his resume.
Ricky Moore- Oh what could have been if not for injuries and declining talent around him. Moore makes the list on 2 merits, he's the last RB at this point in time to have an SEC title and be in the top 10 for rushing.
Kerry Goode- Goode is probably the fastest and most talented player I've ever seen, but he stayed injured it seemed like and never had that flash/burst after his knee injury. My memory is a little more foggy about these years, and I may have the wrong team, but he had a career start in the Boston College game only to go down with a knee injury. He did it all that night, and I remember as a little kid just crying my eyes out when they lost that night, but he had a rushing, receiving and kick return for a score.
Bobby Humphrey- The best all round runner I have ever seen. He ran through people, past people, over people, whatever he wanted to do, he did it. I always will wonder what if he stayed clean and played all 4 years. As is, he's the 2nd leading rusher in school history, tied for 5th in TDs scored, and was just a dominator when he caught fire. Much like Nathan before him and Alexander after him, if he got in a zone, you didn't stop him you just tried to keep up with him. His one man beatdown on Penn State is one that I'll never ever forget. Hell, he was so good, he was the school's all time kick returner for a while. You don't see that much these days.
Kevin Turner- Turner is probably the most versatile back on the list as he could block, run, and catch as good as anyone on the team. The memory of Turner I have is him just bulldozing through LSU defenders and icing the game with one of those rumbling, bumbling, stumbling plays down to the 3 (I think). His career numbers show how versatile he was, he still is in the top 10 receivers list (catches), and has the most receiving yards for a back in school history.
Siran Stacy- There is something about Tennessee in the 80s that had running backs go ape about. Stacy's coming out party was the UT game in 1989. He had a big game in the Memphis State game, but they were a doormat. After Murray Hill's injury, there was no turning back. He rattled off 100 yard performances, and a 200 yarder against LSU, through the Auburn game where it was Curryfied again. Stacy finished his career with a bevy of individual and season stat marks, and a co-SEC title in 89-90.Martin Houston- If there was ever a bulldozing lead blocker, he was it. That guy would just kill linebackers in the gap. Lassic, Anderson, Williams and others owe a lot to this guy because he was a premier run blocker.
Sherman Williams- Sherman brought his shake and a whole lot of cutting moves on the field. His numbers aren't going to just jump out because he shared the field with Chris Anderson and Derrick Lassic, but he was a deceptively strong runner in spite of most who percieved him as a scat back. You don't run for 130 yards on Arkansas and not be tough in any era. He also is probably the best receiving tailback on this list (note the terminology). He was one play from being one of the few backs on here with 2 national titles.Shaun Alexander- As Musso was the power and Humphrey was power and finesse, Alexander was the best finesse back that Alabama has ever had. Some will balk and say he was a stronger runner than I give him credit for, but honestly, how many big runs up the middle do you remember? Or of him plowing through tacklers? Now compare those to Humphrey or Musso. Alexander is the "zone" guy, if he started to get into the game, he usually took it over. His breakout game against LSU is still the best single game rushing performance, and probably will be for a long time. He is the all time leading rusher, and 2nd on the TD list (1st for RBs, and holds the single season mark). He has one SEC title and 2 wins over Florida, but doesn't have a win over Tennessee.
Kenneth Darby- I'm somewhat aprehensive about adding Darby to the list, but his stats put him on here. He has wins over UT and Florida, but none against LSU or Auburn. He is all over the stat book because they ran him to death, but my memory of him will be him shuffling around indecisively instead of taking the yardage he could get.
Tim Castille/LeRon McClain- Might as well keep lumping them together. Both were underutilized at Alabama due to an unimaginative coach, but both were very good fullbacks that really should have been used more like Caddy Williams and Ronnie Brown were because they were both better runners than Darby, in my opinion.
Who on the current roster could join the club?
I thought about this after the QB discussion, but Ingram has the potential to do big things if he can continue to grow as a player. Trent Richardson definately has the potential and as I have mentioned on here before, that IT factor that the great ones have. It will be interesting to see how they are reflected on down the line.
The List
- Bobby Humphrey
- Shaun Alexander
- Johnny Musso
- Johnny Davis
- Tony Nathan
- Wilber Jackson
- Major Ogilvie
- Kevin Turner
- Martin Houston/Steve Bisceglia
- Ken Darby
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