METAIRIE, La. -- Long before the NFL whiffed on Alvin Kamara, he was the one who got away from Alabama.
Kamara's breakout rookie year with the New Orleans Saints never should have been this big of a surprise. He signed with the Crimson Tide in 2013 as one of the top-rated recruits in the country (No. 32 overall on ESPN's 150 list and No. 2 among all-purpose backs by Rivals.com). He probably should have left there as a national championship star.
But Kamara's freshman season was derailed by a minor knee injury and some disciplinary issues, which buried him on a depth chart that also included current NFL backs Derrick Henry, T.