Alabama's 'big uglies' are a tall order for opposing teams
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Matt Womack remembers when he was the tallest person on Alabama’s roster. Now the 6-foot-7, 325-pound senior finds himself as the norm among Crimson Tide linemen.
Womack is one of seven Alabama players who stand 6-foot-7 or taller. The Crimson Tide has more of such players than any other SEC school. Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma have seven combined. In fact, the Crimson Tide’s football team has as many players 6-foot-7 or taller as its basketball team.
The trend of crimson giants is a recent one. During Womack’s freshman season in 2015, he was the only Alabama player taller than 6-foot-6. The next year, that number grew to four before climbing to five the past two seasons.
“Coming into Alabama I figured everybody was going to be my size kind of thing, so it was kind of weird for me,” Womack said. “But now, everybody, other people are coming in that are my size. So it’s kind of nice, like I’m not the only freak out there walking around, like everybody’s looking at me.”
Of Alabama’s 6-foot-7 players, five play on the offensive line. Freshman Evan Neal (6-foot-7, 360 pounds) is the biggest among the group which also includes Womack, redshirt freshman Tommy Brown (6-foot-7, 317 pounds), redshirt junior Scott Lashley (6-foot-7, 307 pounds) and freshman Amari Kight (6-foot-7, 302 pounds). Defensive end Raekwon Davis (6-foot-7, 312 pounds) and walk-on tight end Richard Hunt (6-foot-7, 235 pounds) round out the list.
While intimating, taller frames can often come with their own disadvantages. Earlier in his career, Davis admitted to struggling with keeping his hips low enough to create the necessary leverage needed at the defensive end position.
Length can also be a challenge on the other side of the ball, specifically for players like Womack and Neal who have made the switch from tackle to guard. One of the struggles taller interior linemen face is getting the knee bend needed to lower themselves to the height of their opponent in order to provide a more powerful push off the line.
“I know that I have to keep my pads down because I do have those extra few inches (on) other people,” Womack said, “but I don’t think it’s really going to affect me as much.”
Added Davis: “You’re just tall. You’ve got to know how to play with it.”
Of course, Alabama’s 6-foot-7 players aren’t the only towering figures on the roster. The Crimson Tide also features four more players who stand in at 6-foot-6. That includes 6-foot-6, 308-pound graduate transfer Landon Dickerson whose size immediately drew attention after arriving with the team this fall.
“We were standing next to each other and I think maybe Tommy Brown said, ‘You look really big today.’ It’s because he has these cleats on that I swear are about this big,” Womack said of Dickerson, positioning his thumb and finger about two inches apart. “We were like, ‘You’re like at least 6-6, 6-7 right now.’ But he’s big. He’s a big guy.”
Alabama’s first-team offensive line so far has consisted of Alex Leatherwood, Emil Ekiyor, Chris Owens, Womack and Wills from left to right. Collectively, that group averages out at 6-foot-5, 319 pounds, bigger than most NFL teams.
The Crimson Tide’s projected starters on the defensive line are no slouch either as Davis, D.J. Dale, and LaBryan Ray average out at 6-foot-5, 304 pounds.
This season, Alabama’s hoping that its myriad of mammoths can deliver a sizable advantage.
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Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.
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