In his three seasons at Alabama, running back Bo Scarbrough never topped the Crimson Tide's annual rushing chart.

Scarbrough played only four games in 2015 because of a knee injury, but Alabama had Derrick Henry, Kenyan Drake and Damien Harris to handle the ball-carrying. In 2016, Scarbrough ran for 812 yards, but Harris and quarterback Jalen Hurts had more, and the same two players had more rushing yards than Scarbrough's 596 rushing yards in 2017.

But that didn't keep Scarbrough from becoming the eighth Alabama running back chosen in the past eight NFL drafts. The Dallas Cowboys used their seventh-round selection on Scarbrough, and it wasn't hard to figure out why when they called the running back to let him know he was on the team.

Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones, after informing Scarbrough that the Cowboys had picked him, said, "Our head coach just got off the phone with Nick (Saban), and he said, 'Take him.'"

Jones passed the phone to Dallas coach Jason Garrett, who told Scarbrough: "I've known coach Saban for a long time, and he couldn't say enough good things about you."

When Garrett handed the phone to Scott Linehan, the Cowboys offensive coordinator said: "I know coach Saban well, and you come highly rated from maybe the best coach ever. And our scouts and coaches love you, and so do I. Coach Garrett's excited. Let's go to work."

Garrett served as the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach in 2005 and 2006, when Saban was the NFL team's head coach. Linehan was Miami's offensive coordinator in 2005 before leaving to become the St. Louis Rams' head coach.

But there was more to Scarbrough's pick than Saban's recommendation.

"You fit what we do," Garrett told Scarbrough. "If you follow pro football, you know what I'm talking about. We're going to be a big, physical running team."

Scarbrough weighed in at 228 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas' top running back, weighs 225 pounds, and his current backup, Rod Smith, is a 240-pounder.

Scarbrough knew what Garrett was talking about, describing himself as: "Physical, downhill, one cut, try to run a guy over. I'm a bruiser."

While the Cowboys don't expect Scarbrough to be a starter, he'll be handy to have in reserve, said Stephen Jones, Dallas' executive vice president.

"You never know what's going to happen injury-wise," Jones said. "We have Rod and then we have some web backs (behind Elliott). Certainly, I think Bo is a guy, a big back who can step in and create some depth for us. When we get in the preseason there, we're going to get to take a good look at him. As you well know, we're probably not going to see Zeke much."

Scarbrough told TMZ Sports that he hoped he and Elliott could become "the best duo that ever came through in NFL history."

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Scarbrough said he's looking forward to playing at AT&T Stadium again. Alabama has a 4-0 record on the Cowboys' home field, and the former Northridge High School standout was with the Crimson Tide for two of those games.

"I think it will be just like Alabama," Scarbrough said. "That's home for Alabama, and it's definitely home for me now. Playing in that Dallas stadium was just like being a Cowboy. Every time Alabama comes and we play in the Cowboys' stadium, we always win."

The Cowboys start their three-day rookie minicamp on Friday.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.