RBU Title Indisputably Belongs to Alabama Midway Through NFL Season: Just a Minute

Former Crimson Tide rushers are absolutely dominating the league in the first eight weeks of the regular season.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) runs for a touchdown against Tennessee Titans during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral staff writer Hunter De Siver discusses the elite NFL performances of multiple former Alabama running backs.

It seems like every year college football fans debate which school produces the most elite talent at each NFL position, and this list is ever-changing.

For the eighth-straight season, the Crimson Tide has the most former players on NFL rosters, and the success all over the field has put Alabama in contention with other schools for the best factory at a variety of positions. However, after eight weeks of the 2024-25 NFL regular season, there is no doubt that the University of Alabama produces the best running backs in the league, giving them the undisputed title of "RBU."

Alabama has been considered RBU for quite some time, and that is mainly due to the never-ending dominance of Derrick Henry, who has made the Pro Bowl four times and was named the 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. The 30-year-old currently leads the league in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns, but there have been a few other former Alabama rushers this season who strongly uphold the RBU narrative.

After each having a relatively down year for their standards last season, Green Bay Packers' Josh Jacobs and Pittsburgh Steelers' Najee Harris appear to be back on the right track as they're currently fourth and sixth in the league in rushing yards respectively. Additionally, their remarkable efforts have helped their teams achieve a 6-2 start to the season.

Just behind Harris with the seventh-most rushing yards in the league this season is Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs. This is extremely impressive considering he shares a backfield with David Montgomery, who has one more carry than the former Alabama standout. Gibbs gains all these yards due to his sprinting ability as last week in a 52-14 trounce over the Tennessee Titans, he reached a top speed of 22.03 mph on his 70-yard TD run, the second-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season.

#Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs hit 22.03 mph on his 70-yard TD run -- 2nd fastest ball carrier speed recorded in the #NFL this year.

That's the fastest Lions ball carrier since the 2019 season when NGS started tracking MPH.

Jamo's top recorded speed this year is 21.03 🤔 pic.twitter.com/XgU5muYWpW

— Logan Lamorandier (@LLamorandier) October 28, 2024

Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. is also off to a hot start as his 461 rushing yards are good for No. 18 in the league despite missing a game due to injury and being in a backfield that utilizes two other running backs plus scrambling rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Robinson is on pace for career bests in every rushing stat category and his six rushing touchdowns are tied for the sixth-most in the NFL.

Atlanta Falcons rookie Jase McClellan is the only other former Alabama running back in the league at this time. The sixth-round selection hasn't received many snaps just yet but he's also in a crowded backfield and relatively low on the depth chart. Nevertheless, as he continues to progress outside of Sundays, maybe he could start making some noise in the future.