A former top recruit, Wilkin Formby got his chance to start at right tackle for Alabama as a redshirt freshman last season, and it didn’t go to plan. After starting the first two games of the season and allowing five quarterback pressures and a sack in Week 2 against USF, Formby was sent to the bench in favor of Elijah Pritchett.
Now, with Pritchett at Nebraska, Formby is the favorite to win the right tackle job on a Crimson Tide offensive line that is returning three starters, left tackle Kadyn Proctor, center Parker Brailsford, and right guard Jaeden Roberts, and his new offensive coordinator thinks he’ll be up to the task this time around.
Ryan Grubb on Wilkin Formby
— Theodore Fernandez (@TheoFernandez__) July 31, 2025
“He’s a smart player. He’s learning how to play with the strength he’s acquired. He’s a much more physical player than he was last year”
Ryan Grubb praises Formby’s development early in fall camp
Ryan Grubb spent last season as the OC of the Seattle Seahawks, straying away from his longtime partnership with Kalen DeBoer. However, that stint was short-lived, and Grubb is finally joining DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. So, while he wasn’t around the program last season, it’s safe to say he has an intimate knowledge of what went wrong for Alabama, as the Tide missed the College Football Playoff last season.
To Grubb’s eye and that of the rest of the offensive coaching infrastructure in Tuscaloosa, Formby’s play strength wasn’t up to snuff in his redshirt freshman campaign. With another year in Alabama’s strength program under his belt now, the coaching staff appears to have faith in his development for 2025.
The offensive line should be a strength for Alabama this season, and with the transition from Jalen Milroe to Ty Simpson at quarterback, it will need to be. The Tide won’t have the advantage of the 11-man run game or one of the most elusive scramblers in the sport to leverage into an efficient offense. Instead, they’ll keep to protect the more pocket-bound QB and open running lanes for a more traditional run game. Much of the former responsibility will fall squarely on Formby’s broad shoulders.
Kadyn Proctor is now in his third season as Alabama’s starting left tackle, and though his career momentarily diverted to Iowa City of all places, the former five-star has followed a fairly linear developmental path from top recruit to coveted NFL prospect. On reputation alone, the opponent's best pass-rusher will almost universally opt to rush against Formby rather than battle his 6-foot-7, 366-pound counterpart.
The offensive line is a weak-link unit, diminished to the ability of the lowest common denominator. So while Proctor is a top prospect and Brailsford is an Outland Trophy candidate, if Formby, or whoever emerges as the team’s starting left guard, fails to hold up their end of the bargain, it will hamstring the Grubb’s offense and stunt the growth of his first-year starting QB.