The wait for Alabama football will soon be over as the Crimson Tide announced it will begin its fall camp on Aug. 6. The Tide will hold 23 practices as well as two closed scrimmages as it gears up for its season-opener against Miami on Sept. 4 inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The next month will be pivotal in determining how Alabama lines up this season. Before the Tide breaks for camp, BamaInsider will examine each position group by taking a look at two key storylines. Today we continue the series with the offensive line.

Even after losing three starters from last year’s Joe Moore Award-winning unit, Alabama’s offensive line seems to be predominantly settled heading into fall camp.

Evan Neal is set for his third positional change in as many years as he figures to flip over to the left side to fill in for departing Outland Trophy winner Alex Leatherwood at left tackle. Meanwhile, fellow returning starter Emil Ekiyor Jr. is projected to retain his role at right guard while sixth-year senior Chris Owens is the favorite to take on the center role after filling in for injured Rimington Trophy winner Landon Dickerson during last season’s College Football Playoff. Nick Saban provided another piece to the puzzle last week as he revealed that sophomore Javion Cohen will likely start at left guard next season.

Assuming nothing changes among that quartet, Alabama has just one remaining slot open at right tackle as it looks to round out this season’s starting line. Although, that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of intrigue in the trenches this fall.

The competition for the final starting spot should be fierce as the Tide added a stellar offensive line class to an already loaded unit. During SEC Media Days last week, Saban was asked specifically about two prime candidates for the starting role, sophomore Damieon George Jr. and freshman J.C. Latham. George worked at right tackle with the first-team offense at times this spring, while J.C. Latham comes to the Tide as the top-rated tackle in this year’s class. Fellow five-star freshman Tommy Brockermeyer, redshirt junior Tommy Brown and redshirt senior Kendall Randolph are also in the mix for the spot.

“We have two starters back and some other players who have played a significant amount, but we also have a lot of young players,” Saban said last week. “I think you named two of them [George and Latham] that it’s important for us that those guys mature and develop and gain confidence in being able to play those positions, whether it’s to become a starter or to be a backup who can have a winning performance if necessary and they need to go in the game. So we believe in those guys. They have a lot of ability. They have a lot of talent. They’re certainly capable.

“But offensive line is probably one of the most important positions to be able to develop because there’s so much playing together with the other guys, whether it’s pass protection, run blocking, whatever it might be. So to have a cohesive group up front that can kind of trust and believe in each other, I think, is really important, and those guys’ development will obviously be pretty significant in how that group sort of develops this year.”

For a second straight offseason, Neal made headlines while showcasing his absurd athleticism. In June, Alabama director of sports science Matt Rhea tweeted that the 6-foot-7, 360-pound lineman registered 5,808 watts on a split jump. Neal followed that up by posting a video of him performing a jaw-dropping split box jump earlier this month.

Fortunately for Alabama, the offensive lineman has been able to clear every hurdle he’s faced on the field as well. Neal earned Freshman All-American honors in 2019, starting all 13 games at left guard in 2019. He followed that up with a successful transition to right tackle last season as he allowed just two sacks in 423 pass-blocking snaps while finishing second on the team with an 86.4 run-blocking grade according to Pro Football Focus. This season, Alabama is hoping Neal’s switch to left tackle will be just as seamless as he'll be tasked with protecting quarterback Bryce Young’s blindside.

“In high school, I was recruited as a left tackle but at this point in my career I've played so many different positions that really, any position on the line is comfortable for me,” Neal said this spring. “It really doesn’t matter, I guess you could say that because that’s what I was recruited as but I'm a guy who can play anywhere on the offensive line.”

Neal’s confidence in himself is shared by his teammates who expect him to take charge of the offensive line unit this year.

“He's a freak athlete,” defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis said last week at SEC Media Days. “Big Neal, man, Big Neal can do a lot of things. He's very flexible, and I love going up against him every day at practice because he makes everybody better. I love his leadership as he's been growing.”