re: Bama Football Tidings

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban isn’t giving away too much about his plans at offensive line, but he likes what he sees so far.

After keeping the same starting unit for most of the spring, Alabama has shaken things up in the past few weeks. While injuries have played a part, the Crimson Tide continues to experiment by trying to piece together the correct five-man puzzle which will best protect its wide array of skill players.

“I like the offensive line. I think we’ve got some pretty good experience there,” Saban said. “I like the two tackles that we have. I think they’ve both had really good camps. We have four or five guys that can play inside that have done really well.”

Saban isn’t going to name names, but through observation periods during practice, it’s not hard to identify the seven players he’s talking about.

The two solidified spots on Alabama’s line come on the outside where Alex Leatherwood and Jedrick Wills Jr. have pinned down the left and right tackle positions respectively. The five-star duo has done a serviceable job this offseason and, barring injury, will continue to bookend the line heading into the season.

The interior of the line is where things get more interesting. The five players Saban is likely referring to are Landon Dickerson, Emil Ekiyor Jr., Evan Neal, Chris Owens and Matt Womack. Deonte Brown is another name to consider in the future, but the redshirt junior must first serve out the remaining four games of his NCAA suspension before he can see the field.

During Alabama’s second scrimmage over the weekend, Neal and Ekiyor featured at left and right guard respectively while Owens and Dickerson both saw first-team reps at center. Womack was held out of the scrimmage due to precautionary reasons but has spent the majority of the offseason working at right guard.

Alabama’s versatility on the line only adds to its possible variations. Neal and Womack are both converted tackles who have shifted inside to guard. Meanwhile, Dickerson and Ekiyor have each seen time at both center and guard this fall. While Owens has spent the majority of his reps at center this offseason, he has also seen time at the tackle position and could provide depth behind either Leatherwood or Wills if he misses out on a starting spot.

“The plus side is everyone knows their playbook,” Wills said. “So it’s been easy with communication and things like that. I feel it’s more, kind of like, I guess you don’t have the same bond as everybody else. But whomever they hop in there it goes smooth and easy. It’s all been pretty good.”

Developing that bond is an essential part of building an effective offensive line. Finding the best five guys means nothing if the unit can’t gel together enough to become the right five guys.

“It’s just like a certain thing, like, I guess from anywhere on the line you have to trust the guy on the left of you, to the right of you,” Wills said. "So it’s kind of like a trust thing, knowing actually who’s in there for you in certain situations.”

So where does Alabama begin?

Center is perhaps the most integral position when building out the rest of the line. Last week, Tua Tagovailoa talked about the relationship between quarterback and center, stating that several frustrations can occur if communication isn’t strong.

Saban also noted the mental aspects of the position, listing leadership as an important attribute for the role. It’s worth noting that Alabama’s past three centers have all went on to become permanent team captains.

“There are not very many guys that are good centers who don’t have a big-picture understanding to make calls and help other players play better,” Saban said. “And I think that’s also a really important quality.”

That seems to bode well for Owens, who is entering his fourth year with the program and earned the Mal Moor Leadership Award this spring.

Dickerson is in his first month with the team after arriving in Tuscaloosa as a graduate transfer from Florida State. However, Saban signaled out the redshirt junior for his diversity on the field as well as his “unique perspective” of Alabama’s process.

Ekiyor, a redshirt freshman, has the least amount of experience among the three competing for the job. Although, that hasn’t seemed to hold him back from gaining the trust of his fellow linemen.

“When he hops in at center he knows what’s he talking about and he knows what he’s doing,” Wills said. “It’s really good to have him be able to play anywhere for us.”

The two runner-ups at the center position will also compete for the two openings at guard. Neal has remained a steady fixture at left guard since supplanting himself in the staring unit this fall. The 6-foot-7, 360-pound freshman was the No. 8 overall player in this year’s class and should give the Crimson Tide the extra push inside that it lacked at times last season.

“He’s a big guy,” Wills said. “But from when he first went in there, he was real smooth and real easy. I haven’t really seen anything that really stood out about him being in a new position, so that’s a good thing.”

If Alabama does go with Neal at left guard, it will be interesting to see who lines up on the right side of the center. The Crimson Tide is already experiencing a good amount of change with Leatherwood switching from right guard to left tackle along with at least two new faces entering the fold. Will that prompt Alabama to go for a more experienced option such as Womack or Brown at right guard to balance things out? Or will the Crimson Tide opt for more athleticism in Ekiyor or Dickerson?

Those types of questions still remain as Alabama is seemingly left with five players competing for three spots with less than two weeks remaining until the season-opener against Duke on Aug. 31. It’s a complicated task but a nice problem for Saban and Alabama to have.

“Like to get them all out there so we can try to put our best group together and try to get our best five out there, which I don’t know that we’ve ever had the chance to do to this point. But I feel better about the number of players that we have at that position now than I’ve had most of the time in the past, so I feel pretty good about it.

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