HS FOOTBALL - Playoffs - Spanish Fort at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa

Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa's Brian Robinson Jr gets outside during the Spanish Fort at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa high-school football second-round playoff game, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in Tuscaloosa.

(Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com )

There's precedent here. The other running back in recruiting classes don't have to be after thoughts.

The 2009 class was remembered for Trent Richardson, but Eddie Lacy emerged from down the recruiting rankings. Same thing happened in 2012 when T.J. Yeldon got the hype that Kenyan Drake didn't receive.

It's that shadow Brian Robinson found Wednesday and throughout the recruiting cycle. All eyes were fixated on No. 1 running back Najee Harris as the Hillcrest High School senior remained committed to his dream school.

In a packed library on Wednesday, just a few miles from Bryant-Denny Stadium, Robinson signed his paperwork to join Alabama's top-ranked recruiting class.

And he's more than cool with his role.

"Me being a sleeper in my class? I just have to prove a lot of people wrong," Robinson said. "That's' all that is. If I was the No. 1 player, I would just have to live up to the expectations. So, I'd rather be the underdog."

He's no lightweight, either.

Robinson was still the No. 8 running back in 247Sports' composite of recruiting rankings. The owner of a 447-yard game -- a Class 6A record -- was pursued by Auburn, Georgia and Ole Miss.

Alabama was always the goal, though, and he never wavered on his commitment.

The fact that Alabama returns four talented running backs on top of Harris' early enrollment didn't matter to Robinson.

"Most players aren't afraid to compete," he said. "That's really not a question to them. I wasn't worried. The day I committed, I knew they had two nice five-star running backs already committed.

"It didn't terrify me. I wasn't worried. I committed because I knew I was going to have to compete regardless."

Cam Akres, the other top recruit, later decommitted and landed at Florida State.

That still leaves Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough, Josh Jacobs and B.J. Emmons in the running backs room. All but Jacobs were five-star guys coming out of high school.

"We'll have the depth that Alabama is used to having," Robinson said. "For the last couple of years, Alabama has lacked on depth at running back and I think we'll be back up to par this year."

Robinson rushed for 990 yards on 161 carries (6.1 average) as a senior while catching 24 passes for 204 yards. He's hoping that kind of versatility makes a difference in a group stacked with talent.

Harris comes to Tuscaloosa from Antioch, California with practically every credential a recruit could have.

The 7,948 career rushing yards ranked fourth in California high school history, saving 2,776 for his senior season.

He's the No. 3 overall player in 247Sports rankings -- No. 1 for Rivals and Scout.

"I mean, Najee being the No. 1 ranked running back in the nation, he's going to have that kind of fame or whatever you want to call it but it's not really all about that," Robinson said. "It's how you show up. What you do when it comes down to it. So, everybody has to work. Regardless of what I'm ranked in 247 or ESPN, it will all show in good time at Alabama."