Alabama dominated the All-Southeastern Conference football first and second teams last month with 11 selections, yet it’s a Crimson Tide player who came nowhere close to sniffing such recognition who has everybody’s attention entering Monday night’s national championship game against Clemson in Tampa, Fla.
Sophomore tailback Bo Scarbrough, who had just 358 rushing yards this season entering the Iron Bowl, is suddenly a prominent piece to Alabama’s attack, having rushed 47 times for 361 yards in the last three games. The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder from Tuscaloosa set an Alabama postseason record last Saturday with 180 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in the 24-7 defeat of Washington in the Peach Bowl.
“Bo has really played well for us, especially late in the season, when he got healthy,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “We’ve been playing him more and more, and he has certainly delivered in a really positive way.”
The Alabama and Clemson teams flew into Tampa on Friday and are scheduled to hold their final practices today.
Scarbrough has been beset by injuries throughout his career, the latest being the twisted knee he sustained in the 10-0 triumph at LSU. He sat out wins over Mississippi State and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before rushing 17 times for 90 yards in the 30-12 victory over Auburn and 11 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns in the 54-16 trampling of Florida in the SEC title game.