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Alabama’s 2025 offensive line class is its best since…

By Zach Breathwaite

Sep 30, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman JC Latham (65) celebrates with a cow bell in Davis Wade Stadium at Mississippi State University. Alabama defeated Mississippi State 40-17. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News
Sep 30, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman JC Latham (65) celebrates with a cow bell in Davis Wade Stadium at Mississippi State University. Alabama defeated Mississippi State 40-17. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Coach Kalen DeBoer, offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, and the rest of the Alabama staff have done an excellent job of recruiting top talent to Tuscaloosa in their first offseason with the Crimson Tide. Alabama’s 2025 class, generally considered to be amongst the best in the country, includes five promising offensive line commits. 

5-star tackle Ty Haywood is the headliner, with the obvious frame and skillset of a future pro. Plenty of tackles with Haywood’s characteristics have come to Alabama and used the program to vault themselves into the first round of the NFL Draft. Under Coach Nick Saban, that list included guys like Andre Smith, DJ Fluker, Jonah Williams, Jedrick Wills, Alex Leatherwood, Evan Neal, and, most recently, JC Latham. Rising sophomore Kadyn Proctor figures to be next in line, followed by Haywood. 

Michael Carroll and Jackson Lloyd are two more big pickups for the Alabama offensive line. Both are considered to be top-100 players by the recruiting industry, but On3 is particularly high on this duo. The site lists Carroll as a 5-star recruit and the top overall interior offensive lineman in the class. It also has Lloyd hovering in 5-star territory, ranked as the 26th-best player in the country and the top prospect out of the state of California. 

Carroll gives the Tide a road-grading interior anchor to follow in the footsteps of guys like Tyler Booker and Jaeden Roberts. Though he has been overshadowed by Haywood to a degree, Lloyd is a very good tackle prospect that Alabama fans should be excited about. Together, Haywood and Lloyd may form the next great Alabama tackle tandem. 

Two in-state products that may be somewhat underrated round out this offensive line haul. 4-star Micah DeBose and 3-star Mal Waldrep could prove to be foundational pieces in this recruiting class. DeBose in particular is a very talented lineman out of Mobile, and is considered a top-100 player by Rivals and ESPN.

Coach Saban put together some dominant offensive lines in his day, but it’s tough to determine if he ever signed a class this deep and talented at the position. 

Looking at some of the best offensive line classes under Nick Saban

The 2023 class was pretty loaded, led by 5-star tackle Kadyn Proctor along with 4-stars Olaus Alinen, Wilkin Formby, and Miles McVay as well as 3-star Roq Montgomery. All five of these players are still in the program and looking to establish their Crimson Tide legacies, but this was a stacked class on paper. 

Bama’s top-ranked 2021 class had sky-high expectations with 5-star tackles JC Latham and Tommy Brockermeyer, as well as top-100 guard TJ Ferguson, 4-star center James Brockermeyer, and 3-star guard Jaeden Roberts. Though the Brockermeyer brothers and Ferguson never actualized their potential at Alabama, this class was perhaps even better than 2023 in terms of recruiting rankings.

The 2017 class had two first-round tackles in Alex Leatherwood and Jedrick Wills, but otherwise lacked depth. 2016 was a fairly deep group headlined by 5-star and eventual first rounder Jonah Williams. It included a pair of highly touted tackles that never really panned out at Bama in Scott Lashley and Charles Baldwin, as well as interior pieces like Deonte Brown and Chris Owens who eventually became starters and key contributors. The 2011 class produced a pair of priority draftees in Cyrus Kouandjio and Ryan Kelly, but was also top-heavy. 

With the benefit of hindsight, the 2009 class is tough to beat. That group would go on to produce a pair of first round tackles in DJ Fluker and JUCO product James Carpenter, along with a first round guard in Chance Warmack and an undrafted free agent in Anthony Steen. 

Is this Alabama’s best offensive line class ever? 

They will have to first make it to National Signing Day and then prove themselves on the field before that claim can be validated. While I think arguments in favor of 2009, 2021, and 2023 are all reasonable, the class of 2025 offensive line group that Coach DeBoer and company have put together is very solid. It may be the best haul Bama has landed in the last 20 years, if not ever.

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