Alabama Football Position Breakdown: Offensive Line
By Brett Hudson
Despite the numerous innovations in football recently, including the breakneck pace of Chip Kelly’s hurry-up offense at Oregon and everything that has come from the Rich Rodriguez spread, teams cannot win without a stout offensive line (Rodriguez’s Michigan tenure should speak for itself in that department).
That’s never been a problem at Alabama, as the Tide has put players such as Andre Smith and James Carpenter in the first round of the NFL Draft from the offensive line. The success in the trenches will continue for Alabama in 2012 as the Tide will enter the season with a legitimate claim to the nation’s best offensive line.
Center: Barrett Jones
This senior must be on a mission to prove he’s the best offensive lineman in the nation. He won a national championship as a guard in 2009 (starting as a true freshman), then won a national championship in his first season as a tackle in 2011 in addition to the Outland Trophy.
While Jones will be presented with the difficulty of delivering a good snap before finding his block now, moving him to center was the perfect move for Alabama to make. Every team in the NCAA would want Jones to be the quarterback of their offensive line (as demonstrated by his name being on the preseason watch list for the Rimington award, given to college football’s best center). Few, if any, players are as team-oriented and football smart as Jones, not to mention the raw talent and size that makes him as dominant as he is. Plus, his move to center opens a spot for Cyrus Kouandjio, who will be discussed later.
Guards: Chance Warmack and Anthony Steen.
Warmack has garnered his fair share of attention from the NFL scouts over the summer, earning praise from the likes of Todd McShay as a guy with a game that will translate very well to the professional level. For the time being, Warmack is the prototypical Alabama guard. Warmack has quick feet, which helps him both get around the tackle on a pull block easily to give the runningbacks a shot at busting a long run on the edge, in addition to helping him get to the linebackers before they shift into the hole.
Anthony Steen should improve his play dramatically from last season, in which he narrowly escaped with the starting job at the season’s end. Steen and AJ McCarron seem to have developed a better relationship over the offseason (as their Twitter accounts led us all to believe) which can do nothing but help. Besides, Steen was already a pass block specialist, having displayed excellent block selection abilities and an ability to pick a spot and hold it to give McCarron a sufficient pocket.
Tackles: D.J. Fluker and Cyrus Kouandjio.
Fluker is just another man on the offensive line with first-round potential. Fluker’s size makes him a unstoppable force in the Southeastern Conference, especially in the SEC West where teams such as Arkansas and Auburn have more success recruiting pass rushing defensive ends, giving Fluker a borderline unfair advantage in the running game. The same size works to Fluker’s advantage in pass protection, making him so difficult to get around. Plus, if Fluker gets a hand on you, he’s pushing you back just long enough to set up in front of you and take you out of the play.
Kouandjio is the wonder kid of the offensive line. Just like Jones, Kouandjio played as a true freshman up until his knee injury that took him out for the rest of the season. The coaching staff has placed an incredible amount of trust in the younger Kouandjio brother, and for obvious reasons. He was good enough to play and succeed in the Southeastern Conference as a true freshman at one of football’s most difficult positions, left tackle.
Depth Chart Projections
Barrett Jones will start at center, flanked by Cyrus Kouandjio at left tackle and D.J. Fluker at right tackle. Chance Warmack and Anthony Steen are essentially interchangeable. If the coaching staff finds that one guard works better with a certain tackle, those two will be grouped together.
Analysis
The offensive line stacks up to be one of the best the Tide has seen in a long time. With what could be the nation’s best offensive lineman as the field general in Barrett Jones, the unit will very rarely, if ever, be led astray by a bad read or miscommunication. With the addition of two versatile guards, Anthony Steen and Chance Warmack, and a duo nearing perfection at the tackle position with Cyrus Kouandjio and D.J. Fluker, the offensive line will probably be Alabama’s best position.
If games are truly won in the trenches, Alabama will win a lot this year. Anyone surprised? Me neither.
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