There's no question that Alabama had major issues with line play last season. They couldn't establish any consistency in the run game and there were so many instances where the Crimson Tide got pushed that by the time Indiana did it in the Rose Bowl, no one was shocked.
So when FOX analyst and former Pro Bowl offensive lineman Mark Schlereth was asked to break down what Alabama did in the trenches, his thoughts were not going to be pretty.
“They should be embarrassed” @markschlereth on Alabama’s offensive line play from the 2025 season pic.twitter.com/ayPGzTAIf0
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) March 13, 2026
"I've watched five hours of Alabama football and I have no idea where you hang your hat in the run game," Schlereth said. "And the number of tackles for losses, zero-yard gains, and one-yard rushes with as big and as strong and as physical as your offensive line is, you ought to be embarrassed. It was some of the worst film I've ever watched."
Is there a little hyperbole in there? Yeah, I seriously doubt it was some of the worst film he's ever watched. But the point remains that this was probably one of the worst offensive lines Alabama has had in the 21st century.
Alabama has to return to being big and nasty up front
The biggest shock at what Schlereth and the rest of us saw in 2025 is that we never expected to see that with Alabama. The Crimson Tide are always going to be able to run the ball and win with physical play up front. That's been their identity for years. The lack of fight Alabama showed against Indiana was astonishing and it led to bringing in Adrian Clemm as the new offensive line coach.
And that, more than anything, has to be DeBoer's focus during the spring. He must bring the fight back into the program. There is a belief that Alabama football has gotten soft under DeBoer and that has to change immediately. DeBoer needs a squad that's willing to battle for every yard and every inch of real estate on the field and he didn't get that level of buy in last year.
Alabama fans are probably willing to accept that the current team might not be as talented or as deep with athletes as the best teams during Nick Saban's tenure and that the landscape of college football has changed a little. But there's no excuse for any group of players wearing the Crimson Tide helmet to get bullied. It happened in 2025 and if DeBoer wants to stay in Tuscaloosa, he had better make sure it never happens again.