Alabama returned three starters from last year’s offensive line, and could have brought back a fourth, but Kalen DeBoer and general manager Courtney Morgan opted not to pay up to bring back right tackle Elijah Pritchett. The former five-star left for Nebraska in the Transfer Portal, and now, as the 2025 season approaches, it appears that letting him walk was the right move.
Pritchett was expected to take over at left tackle for Matt Rhule’s Cornhuskers and landed a significant NIL deal to do so. However, on Friday, Rhule released his first official depth chart for the 2025 season with Pritchett listed as a third-stringer. The third-year head coach cited his false starts and mistakes through fall camp in his explanation.
Nebraska HC Matt Rhule says that as of today, OL Elijah Pritchett is not a starter because of his football performance.
— Luke Mullin (@LjsLuke) August 22, 2025
“An unbelievably talented player, but a lot of false starts and a lot of mistakes," Rhule said of Pritchett, stressing NU's need for "dependability" at tackle.
Former Tide right tackle Elijah Pritchett listed as a third-stringer on Nebraska’s official depth chart
Pritchett was not expected to be a starter for the Tide last season either. Wilkin Formby, in his redshirt freshman season, beat out the redshirt sophomore Pritchett in fall camp and started the first two games of the season. Pritchett started Week 1 at left tackle for the injured Kadyn Proctor, but in Week 2 he was sent back to the bench as Alabama moved left guard Tyler Booker out to tackle and inserted Geno VanDeMark.
However, Formby struggled against USF in Week 2, allowing five quarterback pressures and a sack in his second career start, so Kalen DeBoer and last year’s offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan gave the nod to Pritchett at right tackle in Week 3 against Wisconsin.
Pritchett held onto the job for the rest of the year, but out of necessity more than anything. He allowed 30 quarterback pressures and six sacks, and was manhandled by the best defenses that Alabama faced: Tennessee and Oklahoma, giving up a combined 12 pressures and two sacks in those two matchups alone.
Pritchett entered the Transfer Portal after Alabama’s ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan, and after a year of starting experience in the SEC, Nebraska evidently viewed him as an upgrade over their in-house options. DeBoer and his staff, on the other hand, preferred to turn back to Formby, who won the right tackle job this fall camp with an extra season under his belt.
Formby is now slated to start at right tackle in Week 1 against Florida State, while Pritchett will watch Nebraska’s Thursday night matchup with Cincinnati from the sidelines.
It’s good news that the Tide didn’t pay up from their NIL reserves to hang onto Pritchett, because that was clearly not money well spent by Nebraska, but there is also a concern for the Tide, and a question that won’t be answered until Week 1. If Pritchett took the job from Formby last season, and he’s viewed as a third-stringer at Nebraska, is Formby good enough to protect Ty Simpson?