TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There’s a debate among the players about who gets the better of who between the defensive line or the offensive line.

While offensive players will champion their side and vice versa for the defense, there is no question that Alabama’s offensive line has grown thanks to the consistent battles during the team’s best-on-best periods.

"The offensive line has grown with chemistry," Jordan Battle said. "The O-line is competing to get better and better every day. They’ll kind of have scuffles here and there (with the defensive line), but that’s going to happen. We’re here at Alabama, we’re competing every day. It’s common for us to see the O-line and D-line compete."

This increased level of competition is a part of the unit’s new identity. Nick Saban said the front five needed "a different mentality" up front, calling for more consistency and helping establish more running lanes for the team’s ground game.

Last season, the Crimson Tide’s best run-blocker was Evan Neal, who recorded an 80.4 run block grade according to Pro Football Focus.

As a result, Neal was drafted with the No. 5 selection by the New York Giants leaving a hole at left tackle along with instability on the line. To counteract the loss of Neal, Alabama added Tyler Steen from Vanderbilt to fill Neal’s spot which has paid immediate dividends according to Byron Young.

"I think that they just they're all together, they’ve come together really, really well," Young said. "We had Tyler Steen come in and transfer from Vanderbilt, and he's been a great addition to our offensive line. You know, we've seen some guys rotating and trying to figure out the best lineup but you know, I think they've really come together. I think they pass block really well. I think they really run block really well too. They've done a great job protecting Bryce Young during our good-on-good period."

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner did not receive a lot of consistent protection in 2021 as he was sacked 42 times, which was 120th in the nation. It was a complete flip from the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line who allowed just nine sacks in 12 games on 379 drop backs.

That season, the Alabama offense had the top-ranked Power Five scoring offense (48.2 ppg), the No. 1 pass efficiency offense (198.48) and No. 5 total offense (535.0).

With the addition of new offensive line coach Eric Wolford, Alabama will look to bring back the level of consistency it saw from the offensive line in 2020.

"I think coach Wolford was a great addition to us," Darrian Dalcourt said. "He's got a really good intensity to what we have going on. I think so far in the camp and this summer, we've been really focusing on communication. So I would say from that standpoint, we've developed a lot farther than we were last year."