Alabama Football: Eddie Lacy Will Be a Viable Replacement for Trent Richardson

With Trent Richardson making the announcement today in an official Alabama press conference that everyone’s been expecting for months, saying that he will indeed enter the 2012 NFL draft, it’s now officially time for Nick Saban and the Alabama coaching staff to start figuring out how they’re going to replace their star running back. 

Richardson was the key to Alabama’s offensive success during its run to a national championship this past season, as the powerful junior ended up plowing his way for 1,679 yards on the ground and scoring 24 total touchdowns.

For his efforts, Richardson earned a third-place finish in the Heisman voting, and after his breakout performance as a junior, he’s now likely to be a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

There will be no easy solution to replace a playmaker the caliber of Trent Richardson, but Alabama does have a few options it can turn to in the running game next season, including Eddie Lacy, Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart.

The most interesting back next year, though, will be Lacy, who saw considerable more action in the BCS championship game than people were expecting, touching the ball 11 times for 43 yards.

This year, the 6’1’’, 220-pound senior averaged 7.1 yards on 95 carries and scored seven touchdowns.

Lacy may not possess the same type of rare combination of balance, speed, power and vision that Richardson has, but he’s the type of big, bruising back, who can do a lot of damage running behind a line like Alabama’s.

While it’s hard to expect Lacy to come in and replicate the enormous success that his predecessors like Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram experienced, he’s also not the kind of back that should be taken lightly either.

Lacy’s definitely the type of under-the-radar player that could surprise some folks as the leader of Alabama’s ground game in 2012, and I wouldn’t even be shocked if he challenges for a 1,000-yard rushing season, running behind an offensive line as good as the one Alabama has.