Cam Sims seemed surprised when he was informed he is tied with Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough for the second-most catches on the team.

"Who, Bo?" the receiver said. "Nah, I wouldn't have expected it."

No one would have. The burly 6-2, 235-pound freight train of a running back is known for barreling his way through defenders and crashing through holes between the tackles. Last season, he made only four receptions. This year, he already has three.

In the Tide's victory over Florida State earlier this month, Scarbrough was one of four Alabama players who caught a pass.

Damien Harris, who lines up at the same position as Scarbrough, was another.

"It's just getting the ball in playmakers' hands and letting them make a play," said quarterback Jalen Hurts. "We've got a lot of guys here that can run with the ball and we do the best job we can to get them the ball."

It's too early to make any definitive conclusions about Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's strategy.

But the evidence points to the fact that Scarbrough and Harris are getting more opportunities to make plays in the passing game.

On 18 of his 50 snaps this season, according to ProFootballFocus.com, Scarbrough has gone out on routes. That represents a 14 percent uptick from 2016.

Harris has also seen a slight increase in his participation as a receiving option.

"We've always tried to have the running backs involved in the passing game," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. "Sometimes they have responsibilities before they go out in terms of pass protection so sometimes what the defense does determines whether they get out or they don't get out.

"Sometimes you free-release them and somebody else has to block and if they rush you have to block five-man protection and get the ball out hot, which we do that, too. But we want to get our backs involved in the passing game and I think the system that we have right now allows us to do that."

It's a Pro-Style wrinkle, after all.

This past winter, Daboll came to Alabama from New England, where the Patriots' offense used its running backs as conduits to move the ball through the air.

Last season, STATS LLC noted that 23.8 percent of Tom Brady's pass attempts were directed to the team's ball carriers. Only one other NFL quarterback who threw more than 200 times in 2016 -- the Saints' Drew Brees -- targeted running backs more frequently than Brady did.

And while Brady and Hurts have different skill-sets, Alabama's offensive goals dovetail with the Patriots'.

With Hurts in command, the Tide values high-percentage passes thrown to players tracing abbreviated routes. Twenty-three of Hurts' 36 attempts this season have traveled fewer than ten yards in the air.

"The things that we did in the short, quick passes are things that complement our running game and complement what we do on offense, and I think it makes our offense more effective when we can do these things," Saban said. "They're things that hopefully we'll be able to continue to do successfully in the future."

Added Hurts, "I think it allows you to catch a rhythm."

The running backs are happy to do their part to start the beat and keep it going.

"I think Coach Daboll does a great of of getting playmakers the ball and however we can get the ball in our hands, we just want to do whatever we can to help the team," Harris said.

Rainer Sabin is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin