Saban sticks up for Scarbrough after criticism

Alabama sophomore running back Bo Scarbrough is not setting the college football world on fire.

That does not, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said, mean that Scarbrough has “issues.” The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder has rushed 16 times for 55 yards (3.4 yards a carry) in opening blowouts of Southern California and Western Kentucky.

“I don’t think he’s having any issues,” Saban said Wednesday evening in a news conference. “You all create an expectation for people that there is no basis for. You do that to a lot of guys, and it puts a lot of pressure on them and creates a lot of anxiety for them.

“What we’re trying to do here is get guys to develop and get them comfortable gaining the knowledge to go out there and play with confidence.”

Scarbrough was Alabama’s first-team tailback during the A-Day spring game, but fellow sophomore Damien Harris has started each of the first two games. Harris has 20 rushes for 183 yards (9.2) so far this season, including a 73-yard run against the Trojans.

The Crimson Tide have produced five 1,000-yard rushers in the past five years, with Derrick Henry setting school and Southeastern Conference marks last season by rushing for 2,219 yards.

Alabama continued preparations Wednesday for Saturday’s game at Ole Miss with a two-hour workout in full pads. The top-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 19 Rebels will kick off shortly after 3:30 p.m. Eastern, with Alabama looking to end a two-game series slide. Saban said practice has been much better than last week. “This is a great opportunity for our team,” Saban said. “Great players and teams are respected and revered and remembered by what they earned and accomplished, and that comes from a commitment to excellence.”