Tommy Deas
Blake Sims turned to a reliable friend before Saturday's 59-0 thrashing of Texas A&M and asked for some help.
T.J. Yeldon, the University of Alabama's junior running back, responded. So did Derrick Henry and the rest of the Crimson Tide running game.
Alabama ran for 298 yards on the Aggies at Bryant-Denny Stadium, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, and could have gone for a lot more had the first-team offense not called it an early afternoon after building an overwhelming lead.
That the Crimson Tide ran the ball well is usually not news, but in this case, UA was coming off back-to-back games where it averaged just 117 rushing yards - a lack of production that played a big role in a loss at Ole Miss and a one-point victory at Arkansas.
This time, the quarterback made it clear that he needed ground support. Sims approached Yeldon before the game with these words: "Hey, help me out today on the ground."
Said Yeldon, "Give me the ball, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
And that's exactly what he did.
Yeldon ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, and also caught three passes for 45 yards, and didn't play a down in the second half.
Derrick Henry added 70 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts, also taking a screen pass 41 yards for a score. Sims got in on the act with 54 yards on four rushes, including a 43-yard touchdown run.
Backups Tyren Jones and Altee Tenpenny combined for another 67 yards after the starters sat down, with Tenpenny producing a 13-yard run and Jones a 12-yard carry to add to the explosive rushing performance.
"In preparing, we really emphasized that, going back to what we do and being physical and playing Alabama football, and that's what we did during the week," Henry said.
Yeldon, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, showed the kind of vision that made him a preseason Doak Walker Award candidate.
He took a pitch from Sims for a 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and crashed his way into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1 early in the second period. More impressively, he broke through the middle of the A&M defense on the final play of the first period and cut left to open field for a 31-yard run - UA's longest rush from scrimmage on the season - and made four defenders miss on a 25-yard carry in the second quarter where he broke out a spin move.
"He had an outstanding game and the line did, too, letting him see the holes very clear so he could get to the linebackers and nobody could touch him," Sims said.
Yeldon is now less than 100 yards short of 3,000 for his career. He has 30 career rushing touchdowns.
"He's a great running back, a leader of this team," Henry said. "Everything he does, it's not a surprise to us."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1694366
Blake Sims turned to a reliable friend before Saturday's 59-0 thrashing of Texas A&M and asked for some help.
T.J. Yeldon, the University of Alabama's junior running back, responded. So did Derrick Henry and the rest of the Crimson Tide running game.
Alabama ran for 298 yards on the Aggies at Bryant-Denny Stadium, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, and could have gone for a lot more had the first-team offense not called it an early afternoon after building an overwhelming lead.
That the Crimson Tide ran the ball well is usually not news, but in this case, UA was coming off back-to-back games where it averaged just 117 rushing yards - a lack of production that played a big role in a loss at Ole Miss and a one-point victory at Arkansas.
This time, the quarterback made it clear that he needed ground support. Sims approached Yeldon before the game with these words: "Hey, help me out today on the ground."
Said Yeldon, "Give me the ball, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
And that's exactly what he did.
Yeldon ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, and also caught three passes for 45 yards, and didn't play a down in the second half.
Derrick Henry added 70 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts, also taking a screen pass 41 yards for a score. Sims got in on the act with 54 yards on four rushes, including a 43-yard touchdown run.
Backups Tyren Jones and Altee Tenpenny combined for another 67 yards after the starters sat down, with Tenpenny producing a 13-yard run and Jones a 12-yard carry to add to the explosive rushing performance.
"In preparing, we really emphasized that, going back to what we do and being physical and playing Alabama football, and that's what we did during the week," Henry said.
Yeldon, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, showed the kind of vision that made him a preseason Doak Walker Award candidate.
He took a pitch from Sims for a 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and crashed his way into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1 early in the second period. More impressively, he broke through the middle of the A&M defense on the final play of the first period and cut left to open field for a 31-yard run - UA's longest rush from scrimmage on the season - and made four defenders miss on a 25-yard carry in the second quarter where he broke out a spin move.
"He had an outstanding game and the line did, too, letting him see the holes very clear so he could get to the linebackers and nobody could touch him," Sims said.
Yeldon is now less than 100 yards short of 3,000 for his career. He has 30 career rushing touchdowns.
"He's a great running back, a leader of this team," Henry said. "Everything he does, it's not a surprise to us."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1694366
