Alabama's OL down in numbers, not confidence heading into Sugar Bowl
NEW ORLEANS — Alabama’s offensive line has been joined by a few not-so-secret admirers as early enrolees Miles McVay, Ryquese McElderry and Wilkin Formby have taken part in practice over the past week. Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, the trio of incoming freshmen won’t help with its lack of depth up front heading into Saturday’s Sugar Bowl matchup against Kansas State.
Alabama is down a few big uglies as five of its offensive linemen left for the transfer portal since the end of the regular season. Currently, the Crimson Tide has just 11 available scholarship offensive linemen. That includes senior Darrian Dalcourt, who was limited in practice Tuesday.
Fortunately for Alabama, many of its key options are still on board. Senior starters Tyler Steen (left tackle) and Emil Ekiyor Jr. (right guard) have both elected to play in the Sugar Bowl. The Crimson Tide will also have its starting right tackle in J.C. Latham as well as its starting center in Seth McLaughlin.
The hole in Alabama’s starting front comes at left guard after Javion Cohen announced his transfer to Miami. However, the Crimson Tide has a capable replacement in Freshman All-SEC member Tyler Booker, who has spent extensive time with the first team this season.
In short, things could be worse.
“Anybody who wants to be here he’s going to be here, and everybody who’s going to play is going to play,” Latham said Tuesday. “That’s how we handle that. The guys who are invested into the team, the guys who are committed to the team, they’re guys who I know are going to give their best effort. And that’s really all you can ask for in any sports organization that you have. You want guys who are going to compete and go all out and things of that nature.”
In fact, Latham says he’s actually been enjoying Alabama’s pared-down unit over the past month.
“Reps increase, so I kind of like the challenge,” he said. “Some days I might not get a lot of reps because we’ve got a lot of people. Now it might not be the same story. I get to get more reps. I get a chance to get better. It’s all about how you look at it.”
While Latham doesn’t mind the extra reps, the extended workload in practice is even more beneficial to less experienced players on the team, who will now have more of a chance to prove themselves this week. With Alabama set to lose four seniors this offseaosn, its remaining lineman can use these next few days as a springboard to the coming season.
“I think that benefits them a lot, actually,” Latham said. “Just because the simple fact is, they get to step up their game a little bit better, go up against guys who are better.”
One of Alabam’s most promising prospects is five-star freshman Elijah Pritchett, who has been limited to just one game due to a pectoral injury he suffered last fall. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound tackle came to the Crimson Tide as the top offensive lineman in the 2022 class and is now finally able to put his talent on display.
“He’s real physical, really good with his technique,” Latham said. “I mean, if he didn’t get hurt, I feel like he would have progressed a lot more. But just seeing him on his first rep when he got back from his injury, I saw a lot of potential in him.”
Latham also pointed out three other young players who have caught his eye in Booker as well as redshirt freshmen James Brockermeyer and Terrence Ferguson II.
On Booker: “He’s been a guy who’s been consistent, doing his part.”
On Brockermeyer: “He’s another crucial guy with everything that’s going on.”
On Ferguson: “Another guy who’s also thrown into the mix and doing really well.
Alabama will likely hit the portal for a few additions of its own moving forward. However, for now, it feels confident with the bunch it has up front.