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There were friends, fellowship, and of course, an abundance of food on hand as the Alabama offensive line spent the weekend enjoying a bonding trip at Lake Wedowee. All were needed as the Crimson Tide looks to build chemistry across the unit while taking a break from its taxing summer workout regime.
“That's the big part of the offensive line," Alabama center Bradley Bozeman said during SEC Media Days last week. "Our whole room is filled with great guys that are great competitors. We're going to go up there and chill.”
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Perhaps no one needed the mini vacation as much as Bozeman, who joined teammates Calvin Ridley and Minkah Fitzpatrick as the three members of the Tide to represent Alabama during SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., last week.
The humble offensive lineman deflected praise and pushed aside possible distractions with the same amount of ease he manhandled defenders on the field last season. By the end of Alabama’s turn in front of cameras on Wednesday, it was obvious why head coach Nick Saban had selected the Handley, Ala., native to handle the event.
“It’s an awesome experience, to be selected by my coaches to represent my teammates,” Bozeman said. “There’s a lot of guys that deserve to be up here to represent the University of Alabama football team, and I’m blessed that I’m here.”
Don’t let Bozeman’s modest nature fool you, the 6-foot-5, 314-pound lineman is one of the most important members on the Tide’s roster. While he didn’t accompany fellow Alabama linemen Jonah Williams and Ross Pierschbacher on the SEC Media Days preseason All-SEC first team, Bozeman, a second-team selection, returns as the Tide’s leader up front this season.
Dubbed Alabama’s “unsung hero” by head coach Nick Saban, Bozeman started all 15 games last season, helping the Tide lead the SEC in scoring offense with 38.8 points per game. This year the veteran lineman projects to be the only senior on a young starting offensive line. That’s a role he isn’t taking lightly.
“It’s the little things that determine scoring a touchdown or kicking a field goal,” Bozeman said. “It’s part of the process, you have to do everything correctly no matter if you want to or not. We have to with our leadership, that’s part of it. Our leadership can’t waiver.”
While Bozeman will be critical in making sure the line stays in check, a big part of Alabama’s success will depend on how some of its younger players adapt to the next level. Williams, Pierschbacher and Bozeman have cemented their roles on the left side of Alabama’s line. However, the Tide saw plenty of uncertainty on the right side this spring.
“I feel like coming out of the spring that we had four players who really demonstrated that they could play winning football on the offensive line,” Saban said. “And I felt like we had four or five other players who certainly showed signs that they could be that player that made the fifth starter, whether at right guard or right tackle.
“I think all those players have competed very well this summer. And it will be interesting to see how they mature in fall camp. And I don't think that decision is going to get made until sometime in fall camp.”
Lester Cotton, who earned third-team honors in the preseason Media Days poll, figures to land one of the two open spots on the right side. The junior started at both guard and tackle during the spring and appears capable at both positions. That leaves one spot open as the Tide heads into fall camp.
Redshirt freshman Deonte Brown earned a start at right guard during Alabama’s second spring scrimmage, while redshirt sophomore Matt Womack started two scrimmages at right tackle. The Tide will also bring in a pair five-star freshman in Alex Leatherwood and Jedrick Wills. Leatherwood, an early enrollee, was the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 4 player overall in the 2017 class. Wills, who came in over the summer, was rated as the No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 25 overall player.
“We have a couple new freshman that have shown some potential over the summer,” Saban said. “And it's all going to be about who can develop and who can play with the most consistency and who is the best fit with the other four players that have all started games for us in the past.”
Bozeman echoed Saban’s praise, saying that both Leatherwood and Wills have “worked their tails off” this summer. That grind will continue for the next seven weeks as Alabama prepares for its season opener against Florida State on Sept. 2.
With their weekend by the water now in the rearview mirror, it’s back to business until then.
“They all want the spot,” Bozeman said. “It’s not really given to anybody, so you are going to have to earn it.”
