As college football has evolved, one constant has held firm. Winning the trenches drives victories. The Alabama Football offensive lines that Bryce Young worked behind sometimes required his special blend of magic. In more recent seasons, sometimes good offensive line performance was marred by too frequent inconsistency. For the Alabama Crimson Tide to be a legit championship contender, the offensive line must improve. The big guys upfront will need and deserve some help with an offense and a quarterback who makes correct and quick decisions. Alabama allowed far too many pressures last season, and all the blame should not be placed on the line.
There are signs that improvement will occur. Outside experts rate the 2025 offensive line highly. Alabama football fans are cautiously optimistic. Still, a new left guard starter and a yet-to-be-consistent right tackle are concerns. Another concern is depth. The position group is deep with potential, but much of that talent needs time to develop.
Alabama Football must have 'one play away' potential starters
Alabama football assistant Chris Kapilovic must identify a minimum of eight guys capable of performing in a starting role. Three starting slots are locked in with Kadyn Proctor at left tackle, Parker Brailsford at center, and Jaeden Roberts at right guard. A fourth starter is close to being a lock, with Wilkin Formby at right tackle.
Either transfer Kam Dewberry or Geno VanDeMark will fill the left guard slot. VanDeMark will also be the backup to Brailsford at center. Another key backup guard is Olaus Alinen.
Key backups at tackle are difficult to predict. Going into camp, transfer Arkel Anugwom and freshman Jackson Lloyd are probably the leaders. Anugwom was at Ball State for two seasons and saw action in just three games. The Nigerian is believed to have starter potential, but must be tested against SEC-level competition. He'll get some of that in fall camp scrimmages. The best situation for highly touted freshman Jackson Lloyd is to be slowly developed, while never being thrust into a starting role. Alinen also worked at tackle during the spring and has the benefit of going into his third season in Tuscaloosa. It is possible that former 5-star freshman Michael Carroll could be akin to a Swiss Army Knife like VanDeMark, and be a guard who can play a second position.
An often unnoticed advantage for Alabama is that not only is Kapilovic a respected offensive line coach, but Ryan Grubb has also coached the position group. Before Grubb became an OC for Kalen DeBoer, he was an offensive line coach at Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan, and Fresno State.