A fully healthy offensive line unleashes Alabama Football's true potential

Alabama football fans were nervous. Two weeks into the season and the Crimson Tide offense looked to once again be boom-or-bust. The dominant 63-0 win over Western Kentucky was completely forgotten about after last week's struggle against USF.

Alabama coudn't run the football. Jalen Milroe looked uncomfortable in the pocket as pressure was getting to him quickly. Penalties took points off the board and kept forcing the offense behind the sticks. Everything was discombobulated and with a road trip to Madison looming and then the Georgia game at Saban Field lingering, things needed to get corrected, quickly.

Was the performance last week against USF indicative of what we could expect moving forward? Would Alabama be overmatched and undisciplined all year? Or was the Kadyn Proctor injury that big of a deal? Or was it just wishful thinking that a healthy Proctor would be the cure-all?

It's a small sample size, and Wisconsin has a thin defensive front, but early returns on Proctor's debut are that we were probably worried about a whole lot of nothing. Proctor missing last week and Elijah Pritchett being banged up caused a lot of shuffling up-front. Alabama moved star left guard Tyler Booker to left tackle, inserted Michigan State transfer Geno VanDeMark at left guard, and Wilkin Formby played the majority of the game at right tackle and had his confidence totally ripped away by an officiating crew that had a magnifying glass on him.

Things changed in the final six-and-a-half minutes last week against the Bulls, with Pritchett coming in at right tackle and Alabama promptly doubling its scoring output and producing 42% of its total offense in the six plays he anchored the right side of the line.

On Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall, Proctor made his much anticipated 2024 debut at left tackle, and Pritchett started in place of Formby at right tackle. That allowed Booker to slide back into his usual spot at left guard, joining Parker Brailsford and Jaedan Roberts on the interior of the offensive line.

The fully healthy unit looked dominant. Milroe was rarely pressured, with the line only ceding a single sack until gargabe time with the backups in on the line and Milroe comfortably on the bench after a five-touchdown evisceration of the Badgers. Milroe had time to go through his progressions and find open receivers, hitting three touchdowns through the air of 25+ yards. He hit Ryan Williams for 31 yards, Germie Bernad for 26 right before the half, and hit Josh Cuevas for 37 yards to deliver the final nail to the coffin.

Milroe used his legs mostly on designed runs instead of panic scrambles because he trusted his offensive line to keep him upright this week, a luxury he didn't have last week or most of last season.

Alabama ran the ball at will, averaging 6.5 yards-per-carry on the ground prior to garbage time. Milroe and Jam Miller both went over 70-yards on the ground, with Alabama finishing with 181 yards rushing.

This game allowed a small glimpse into what Alabama's identity will be on offense. The Tide can beat you in a variety of ways: the power run game is dangerous with the best interior offensive line and the most dynamic running QB in the country. But Milroe has clearly made strides as a passer, and there's plenty of talent at wide receiver.

A dynamic QB, two stud RB's, and a young group of receivers that are getting better every week is going to be a nightmare for opposing SEC defensive coordinators. Milroe forces you to defend every blade of grass on the field with his ability as a dual-threat

The improvement on the line is going to let us see the next evolution of Milroe as a passer, and unleash the full potential of what could be one of the nation's most dynamic and explosive offenses.