On Tuesday, the Outland Trophy preseason watchlist was released. 50 players made the watchlist, with only two teams producing three candidates. One of those teams is Oregon, the other is Alabama football.
It's another indicator that Alabama's offensive line is thought of as one of the nation's best, speaking to the potential that unit has to become one of the top groups in college football. Alabama is on the early shortlist for the Joe Moore Award consideration, given annually to the best offensive line in the country.
Left tackle Kadyn Proctor shot down talk of the Joe Moore Award at SEC Media Days. If he were asked about the Outland Trophy, he would shoot that down too. Proctor is one of the three Tide players named to the watchlist, joined by center Parker Brailsford and right guard Jaeden Roberts.
Proctor, Brailsford, and Roberts are all returning starters from last season. Proctor should continue to grow into one of the best tackles in the nation, and is widely expected to be a high draft pick next April. Brailsford might be the best center in the country, and continues to fly further under the radar than he should. He was as steady as it gets last season. Roberts should finally be healthy after dealing with nagging injuries throughout last season. He's one of the strongest players in the country.
Led by those three, Alabama just needs solid play at LG and RT to field one of the top offensive lines. Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry or veteran Geno VanDeMark will fill in at LG to replace Tyler Booker. At RT, Alabama will have the same starter it had at the beginning of last season in redshirt sophomore Wilkin Formby. Formby struggled in the early part of the season and was ultimately benched in favor of Elijah Pritchett, who transferred to Nebraska following the season.
Alabama football's history with the Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is given annually to the best interior lineman - offense or defense - in college football.
An Alabama player has taken home the Outland Trophy six times in the history of the award. The first was Chris Samuels in 1999, the last being Alex Leatherwood in 2020. Below is the full list:
1999: Chris Samuels
2008: Andre Smith
2011: Barrett Jones
2016: Cam Robinson
2018: Quinnen Williams
2020: Alex Leatherwood
Three of those six years with an Outland winner, Alabama won the National Championship. Five of those six years, Alabama won the SEC Championship, with the only year they didn't coming in 2008 when they lost to Florida.