Alabama spring grade out: Offensive line

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Alabama finished its spring camp last month revealing an early preview of what to expect in the coming season. We will break down each position, sharing what we saw and expect for this year. Today we continue our spring evaluations with the offensive line position.

Left side, strong side. At least that’s the case for Alabama’s offensive line heading into the summer.

Sure, the Crimson Tide must say farewell to Cam Robinson, who started every game of his three-year college career at left tackle before being selected in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, with right tackle Jonah Williams moving to the left side along with the return of left guard Ross Pierschbacher and center Bradley Bozeman the Tide are pretty confident in protecting quarterback Jalen Hurts’ blind spot next season.

Much of that optimism is due to how seamlessly Williams has made the transition to left tackle.

"It's been pretty easy for him, I think," Pierschbacher said earlier this spring. "He said he feels maybe even more comfortable on the left than the right which is surprising to me. He's done a really good job. He's the type of guy that if he sets him mind to it, he's going to achieve it. He really wanted to get that left tackle spot and he's done everything to earn it."

Williams success shouldn’t be much of a surprise, as the Freshman All-American was one of the Tide’s top performers last season. A former five-star recruit, Williams played left tackle during high school. Although, he admits relearning the position did take a little extra determination.

“I would go out on the field after practice with Ross (Pierschbacher) and my buddies and play the left tackle spot, getting used to it, getting a feel for it,” Williams said earlier this spring. “I tried to eat and write with my left hand, get a little ambidextrous. It was smooth for me. It wasn't a big shock.”

Williams later joked that he had to give up writing left-handed after his penmanship wasn’t legible enough for assignments. Luckily for Alabama, that’s the only hiccup he’s encountered during the switch.

Right guard and right tackle were somewhat of a merry-go-round for Alabama. The Tide experimented with Lester Cotton at right guard and Matt Womack at right tackle in the first scrimmage but did not get the required push it desired on the line. During the second scrimmage, Alabama moved Cotton to tackle and substituted 6-foot-4, 350-pound Deonte Brown at guard.

The Tide then started Cotton and Womack on its first team during the A-Day scrimmage where the Crimson (first-team) offense gained just 8 yards on the ground. The lack of production is one of the biggest question marks Alabama will have to answer as it heads into fall camp in a couple of months.

“Right now, I might say we probably have four offensive linemen, I’m not going to say who, who can play winning football,” Saban said following A-Day. “We probably have another four that have the potential to play winning football that may not be where they need to be. We’re going to play the best five guys that give us the best chance.”

Judging by the spring, the four ready offensive linemen Saban is referring would most likely be Williams, Pierschbacher, Bozeman and Cotton. That should leave Brown and Womack along with younger players such as early enrollee Alex Leatherwood and redshirt freshman Scott Lashley to compete for the final spot.

Brown earning a start during the second scrimmage caught many by surprise as some questioned his conditioning heading into the spring. Listed at 350 pounds on Alabama's official roster, Brown appeared overweight coming into the spring. However, a productive spring saw him show great strides coming out of his redshirt year last season.

"Deonte has really stepped up this year," Bozeman said. "He's really getting after it and trying to figure out the right way to do things. ... He's really pushing it. He's got a lot of motivation. I think he's ready."

While his weight has been an issue at times, there's no questioning Brown's strength. According to Al.com, he squatted 675 pounds and bench pressed 500 pounds during the Tide's spring workouts. That strength could definitely come in handy, especially if Alabama is looking for some extra muscle in the running game.

"He's very physical at the line of scrimmage," Bozeman said. "He's solid in pass pro. He's done a good job so far. Hopefully, he continues and grows."

As mentioned before, Leatherwood and Lashley are still in the mix for playing time this fall. Leatherwood, 6-foot-6, 327 pounds, was rated as the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 4 player overall in the 2017 class, while Lashley, 6-foot-7, 310 pounds is another giant option at the tackle spot.

Alabama will also bring in two more talented freshmen in five-star Jedrick Wills (No. 5 offensive tackle, No. 25 overall) and four-star Kendall Randolph (No. 15 offensive guard, No. 248 overall). That should make for an interesting competition during fall camp.

The Tide still has plenty of work to do on the offensive line, but the pieces appear to be there for another dominating unit in the future.

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