Nick Saban changed Alabama from just another program to a dynasty. There were periods when analysts predicted the Tide would fall off. When the playoff era began, Alabama won two national titles in four years. The reason for the program’s consistent success was the expectations Nick Saban set for it. That included the players and coaches. Kalen DeBoer has yet to figure out that aspect, according to a former Tide.

“Whenever you watch Alabama play, even when they win, something is missing,” former Bama RB Damien Harris said on the DawgNation podcast on July 25. “It’s physicality, it’s toughness, it’s bully mentality. There needs to be an emphasis on it doesn’t matter if we’re overlooked; it doesn’t matter if everybody’s got a target on our back. This is the brand of football that we play.”

Damien Harris played for Bama from 2015 to 2018 and helped the team win two national titles. For Damien, his practices with then-Bama RBs coach Burton Burns and OC Lane Kiffin weren’t just about perfecting plays. It was about being physical and showing an unrelenting mentality.

“He’s [Saban] just sitting there giving out all the plays that we’re going to run at practice, and he would throw the plays on the floor,” Damien Harris recalled from his time at Alabama. “And he’d be like, ‘It doesn’t matter what the play is on the piece of paper. If you don’t run the plays with a certain type of attitude, with a certain type of mentality. I don’t care. If you don’t run the ball with physical toughness and a mentality that the other team just can’t face.”

Damien Harris’ words come after Kalen DeBoer’s comments at the SEC Media Days. The Bama head coach was asked about his team “being under the radar” in preseason rankings. DeBoer reiterated that he liked those verdicts because they give the head coach “less expectations” than usual. In truth, Bama needs an offensive identity, something Nick Saban championed during his three-decade career at Alabama.

Last year, Alabama’s rushing game was nonexistent, and the offense often became unidirectional. It averaged just 104.13 rushing yards per game, standing 125th nationally. That affected Ty Simpson, who was also recovering from an injury. In the SEC championship game, Bama was disappointingly held to negative 3 yards as Georgia steamrolled DeBoer’s team.

“When have we ever heard of an Alabama team running the ball for -3 yards?” Benjamin Watson said on the Paul Finebaum Show. Thankfully, DeBoer hasn’t tried to hide away from the scrutiny and has addressed several issues. At the SEC Media Days, he publicly spoke about embracing Bama’s historic rushing identity and has also vowed to correct “execution” issues.

To achieve that, Bama returns with Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley in the RB room, while redshirt freshman AK Dear provides depth. Hill and Riley together notched 508 yards last year; AK Dear had 140 rushing yards in limited reps. Most importantly, though, the Tide would want to hand over the signal-calling to a dual-threat QB. That seems to be Keelon Russell. However, Kalen DeBoer hasn’t yet named a starter.