Roll Yeldon Roll

Without fail every year Alabama boasts big names during football season. In the past, some of those names have been Trent Richardson, Dont’a Hightower, Javier Arenas and Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram just to mention a few. Their jerseys remain on the backs of Alabama fans long after they are drafted into the NFL; and the term, “Built by Bama,” follows them wherever they go.

With such a young team this year, we are still waiting to see who will be the next big Alabama name. Coach Nick Saban said in Monday’s press conference,

“We have a team that doesn’t have as many defined stars as in the past. We have a lot of guys that have had the opportunity to play and to improve and make a contribution on both sides of the ball.”

Saban added that the media are the ones who define certain players as stars. So, seeing as it is my job to pluck one of those boys in a Crimson jersey off on the field and into stardom, I’m going with true freshman running back T.J. Yeldon. Where as most of the guys at running back have had at least one season to wow us, Yeldon is young and eager to prove himself.

At 6-2, 216 lbs. the young gun has all of the makings to be a star Alabama running back, accumulating 254 rushing yards and 91 receiving yards already this season. While his stats are impressive, we must remember that Yeldon, who graduated early from Daphne high school to begin practicing with the Tide and with Fowler out there is an elephant sized amount of pressure weighing on his shoulders.

With four wins under his belt this season, Yeldon seems to be adjusting to his new role quite nicely and having a mentor like spin-move-master Eddie Lacy on your side can’t hurt.

“Some of these young running backs are like little brothers to me.”

Lacy mentioned when asked about Yeldon’s performance so far. In the big scheme of things though it is going to be up to T.J. to keep his head in the game and continue reaching for that Alabama star status.