Alabama Football: Tide’s report card from National Championship
By Dakota Cox
Alabama football’s report card vs. Ohio State
Offensive Line: A+
Alabama knew that they needed to dominate the trenches to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes. Despite COVID-19 impacting Ohio State’s depth on the defensive line, this was still a challenge as the Tide prepared for this game. It gets worse without Landon Dickerson at center. However, this group won the Joe Moore Award for a reason. They got quality separation in the trenches for Najee Harris, and Harris did the rest.
There were a few pre-snap penalties, but the loss of Landon Dickerson was not nearly as severe as some Alabama football fans feared. They gave Mac Jones a great pocket for most of this game, and that is all you can ask for.
Alex Leatherwood will definitely head to the NFL. You can say the same about Landon Dickerson and likely Deonte Brown. Thankfully, Alabama is bringing in the greatest offensive line class in recent memory next season. We could see multiple freshmen starting in the 2021 season.
Defensive Line: A-
LaBryan Ray has been injured for a significant portion of the season, but he was available for Alabama football in this one. Even with him playing, Christian Barmore was the focal point of the defensive line. He got quality pressure on Justin Fields and helped fill in gaps in the running game.
Barmore’s impact can’t be overstated. He dominated the line of scrimmage and was consistently forcing pressure in the middle of the pocket.