Alabama might have a new starting quarterback, but it still isn’t clear who Bryce Young will be taking snaps from during Saturday’s season opener against Miami.
Sixth-year senior Chris Owens and junior Darrian Dalcourt were listed as co-starters at center on the team’s official depth chart released Monday. Both players have worked with the first-team offense this fall as a series of minor injuries have caused the Crimson Tide to shuffle its front. However, with Nick Saban announcing Monday that the offensive line is “all back intact,” Alabama will have a decision to make for this weekend’s game.
"Both of those guys are hard-working guys," left tackle Evan Neal said. "They approach the game every day looking to get better. I’m confident in whoever goes out there. I’m confident in both of those guys. I have a tremendous respect for both of them."
Monday, Young seemed just as confident in the duo when asked about taking snaps from both Owens and Dalcourt this fall.
“Both CO and Darrian are my guys,” Young said. “We’re all really close, and it’s great, really, with the whole O-line, but just specifically talking about those two right now. That’s really been probably my favorite part of working with them is how great of individuals they are and how well we mesh together, and whether it’s on the field or off the field, just being able to be around everyone."
Owens took advantage of the NCAA’s blanket eligibility waiver to return for his sixth season this year. The Arlington, Texas native entered the preseason as the favorite to land the starting role after filling in for injured Rimington Award winner Landon Dickerson during the College Football Playoff. On top of those two games, Owens also made a spot start at right tackle against Arkansas in place of Evan Neal. According to Pro Football Focus, Owens earned a 58.0 pass-blocking grade and a 53.1 run-blocking mark while appearing in 303 offensive snaps over 11 appearances.
“Chris Owens is probably one of the smartest guys I’ve played against,” defensive tackle D.J. Dale said earlier this month. “He knows what every person on the offensive line is supposed to do. He knows, like, what to do when we’re lining up. He calls out what we’re running sometimes. It’s a challenge to go against a guy like that. He’s athletic, he can move. He’s quick, strong.”
Despite seeing limited action over his first two seasons, Darrian Dalcourt has made a serious push at the starting role this fall. Last season, the former four-star recruit appeared in eight games, primarily serving on the field goal/extra point unit. Monday, Saban said the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder has added a bit more power to his game this offseason.
“He has played really well and had a good fall camp,” Saban said, “and we're really pleased with the progress that he's made and excited about, you know, watching him when he gets an opportunity to play, how he actually performs out there as a young player who doesn't have quite as much experience as some of the other players but has really shown a lot of maturity in his play throughout fall camp.”
Whoever delivers the first snap for Alabama on Saturday will have to deal with a revamped Miami defensive line that includes tackle Nesta Jade Silvera, who led the nation with 10 quarterback hits last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Outside of the center position, Alabama announced that Neal will slide over to left tackle while sophomore Javion Cohen enters his first season as starter at left guard. On the right side, redshirt junior Emil Ekiyor Jr. returns as the starter at guard while redshirt senior Kendall Randolph starts at right tackle. As experienced as that unit might be, it had limited time to gel together this offseason due to injuries.
“I'm confident in the group,” Saban said. “There's a lot of competition up there which I think is a good thing. And we'll see they're gonna play against a good front and active front, very aggressive front in this game so it'll tell us where we're at.”
Alabama and Miami are set to kickoff on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT inside of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.
