Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Barry Sanders Jr. is this next class’ great white whale as far as running backs go. Everybody wants him, and Sanders seems to be enjoying the attention that being the No. 1 anything brings with it.

So is Sanders just toying with Alabama, or do they really have a good shot?

After reading every interview Sanders has made on the subject, he has four favorites, and Alabama is one of them. Also on the list is Oklahoma State, his father’s old school, UCLA and Florida State. So obviously, distance from home has nothing to do with it. Presently he lives just outside Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

And this fall, he was spotted at a Texas game sporting a Texas cap, but insisted that it was just hot and he needed a cap. He does however have some interest in Texas, but he rarely mentions them.

In the interviews, it’s important to listen to what his father says as well, as Barry Sr. has been glowing over his praise of the program at Alabama and especially of the way Coach Nick Saban runs the program.

“What’s not to like about Alabama?” Barry Sr. said in one interview. “Coach Saban runs a first class program and the facilities and atmosphere is wonderful. We’ve been very impressed with what we’ve seen.”

Having a father like Barry is a wonderful thing, as he knows what to look for beyond all the bells and whistles that a young student sees and gets starry-eyed about.

Alabama has a good recent history of landing and developing great players for the offensive line, and it doesn’t matter how good a running back you are if you don’t have a hole to run through.

This is something Barry has commented on that he’s noticed at Alabama, but he’s not talking about any other school’s offensive line. 

Another thing Barry Jr. has said about Alabama that he hasn’t said about any other school is how well they provide their running backs with an early opportunity for playing time and that their running backs can leave early for the NFL should they desire to.

This could be a real selling point that helps cement the deal.

And the other thing that the great ones won’t admit to doing, but we know they all do, is evaluate the competition you’d have on that team and seeing if you “fit in” to the scheme of things.

Richardson will in all likelihood be gone after this season, then it could be the Eddie Lacy and Dee Hart show with perhaps Barry Jr. being the featured freshman who gets his feet wet.

Then Eddie may leave after his Jr. year, and it could be the Dee Hart and Barry Jr. show. Should Dee leave after his Jr. year, then Barry Sanders would be the showcase back by his Jr. year to make his mark and perhaps leave early for the NFL.

It has happened too many times for Barry not to see that he would be coming into the perfect “cycle” at Alabama. He knows he can be a featured back with lots of television exposure, without running the risk of being ridden like a rented mule.

This way he’d still be somewhat “fresh” when entering the NFL. With the life expectancy of a running back being so short, what are the odds that a “rented mule”-type back, say Marcus Lattimore at South Carolina, can carry the rock almost exclusively for three or four years and still have his knees or health by NFL time?

This is something you can count on his father to counsel him on.

The other is that Barry Jr. is saying in almost all the interviews that winning championships is important to him. Can anyone name the last year that Oklahoma State and UCLA won one? Florida State has done so in his lifetime, but I doubt that he can remember when or name the year.

Alabama is picked to be in the hunt now almost every year.

And when Sanders speaks of coaches he’s talked to, he gets animated when speaking of meeting Saban and almost always smiles broadly when speaking of him.

You also have lots of silly reasons he may like Alabama best fit. One might be his ever-changing hair styles.

He showed up for one interview sporting a Mohawk. He would fit right in at Alabama with that hairstyle; Jesse Williams, the “Awesome Aussie,” is a trend-setter it seems, and other Alabama players have started sporting them now.

But seriously, Saban has a history of both getting and losing the No. 1’s he’s gone after, but this No. 1 running back may just end up being yet another in the win column for Saban and Alabama.

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