Is Alabama's current OL class the greatest ever?

It’s a good time to be Kyle Flood.

During his first season at Alabama last year, the offensive line coach managed a unit that finished as a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. Four of the five starters from that group return for this season while the other, Jedrick Wills Jr., was selected No. 10 overall in this year’s NFL draft. Flood isn’t losing much sleep over filling the lone opening as he’ll have his pick of several budding talents to choose from.

Then, just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any better for the Tide assistant, they did.

Over the weekend, Flood and Alabama ensured that its abundance of riches at the offensive line position will continue over the years as it secured commitments from twins Tommy and James Brockermeyer as well as Terrence Ferguson. The trio joins J.C. Latham in what some are saying could be the best offensive line class ever assembled.

And for good reason.

Tommy Brockermeyer, a five-star tackle, is currently the Tide’s highest-rated commit, ranked as the No. 10 player overall and No. 2 player at his position in the 2021 class. He’s joined by two other Rivals100 members in Ferguson (No. 43 overall, No. 8 offensive tackle) and Latham (No. 70 overall, No. 13 offensive tackle) as well as his brother James (No. 247 overall, No. 3 center).

Alabama could also see a boost as Latham is projected to make a major rise the next time the Rivals rankings are updated.

“We went conservative on Latham because he’s only played one year at offensive tackle,” Rivals national recruiting director Mike Farrell explained. “When you look at him, he’s arguably the best-looking offensive tackle in this class physically. We were just conservative in his ranking initially because he’s still developing. With another year at IMG, based on last year, the expectations are that he’s going to take that next step.”

Alabama is also a finalist for two more elite tackles, Amarius Mims (No. 2 overall, No. 1 offensive tackle) and Tristan Leigh (No. 28 overall, No. 4 offensive tackle). While neither of those two are heavily forecasted to commit to the Tide, landing one of them would assuredly cement Alabama with the top offensive line class in history.

That being said, this year’s offensive line haul could still go down as the best of all time regardless.

“I’m going to say they have a chance,” Farrell said. “I think Latham is going to end up being a five-star. I’m not sold on (Tommy) Brockermeyer as a five-star, but he’ll probably stay there. And Terrence Ferguson could also be a five-star. James is who he is. He could be the Ryan Kelly of this class, and then you’ve got Latham, Brockermeyer and Ferguson who could all be first-rounders.

“I think Ferguson’s a top-50 player, (Tommy) Brockermeyer is a top-30 player, and by the time this is all done I’m assuming Latham is going to be a top-30 player. So you’ll have two five-stars, a high four-star and at least another four-star thrown in. I think this absolutely, 100 percent has a chance of being the best offensive line class.”

Ranking classes is a bit subjective, and stars aren’t necessarily a guaranteed indicator of success. For example, Michigan’s 2013 offensive line class featured five four-stars but didn’t end up producing a single NFL draftee. Meanwhile, Alabama’s 2009 offensive line class isn’t one of the highest-rated but featured three first rounders in D.J. Fluker, Chance Warmack and James Carpenter.

With that being said, here’s a look at some of the top classes this year’s Alabama class is up against.

— Matt Kalil: 5-star, No. 11 overall, No. 3 OT (Drafted in first round, No. 4 overall in 2012)

— Tyron Smith: 5-star, No. 15 overall, No. 6 OT (Drafted in first round, No. 9 overall in 2011)

— Khaled Holmes: 4:-star, No. 103 overall, No. 3 OG (Drafted in fourth round, No. 121 overall in 2013)

— Matt Meyer: 4-star, No. 151 overall, No. 5 OG

— Daniel Campbell: 4-star, No. 153 overall, No. 6 OG

Highly-rated classes don’t always translate to success on the field, but this one did pretty well. Not only did the Trojans land two five-star talents and five offensive lineman ranked in the top 153 players, they also produced two top-10 NFL draft picks.

Smith, a seven-time Pro Bowler, is currently one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL, while Kalil also has a Pro Bowl to his name. Meanwhile, Holmes played five years in the NFL. Injuries prevented Meyer from panning out, while Campbell didn’t qualify academically. Still, this group is one of the first brought up when discussing all-time offensive line classes.

— D.J. Fluker: 5-star, No. 3 overall, No. 1 OT (Drafted in first round, No. 11 overall in 2013)

— James Carpenter, 4-star, No. 32 JUCO player (Drafted in the first round, No. 25 overall in 2011)

— Brandon Moore, 4-star, No. 24 OT

— Chance Warmack, 3-star, No. 20 OG (Drafted in the first round, No. 10 overall in 2013)

— Kellen Williams, 3-star, No. 24 OG

— Anthony Steen, 3-star, No. 26 OG

— Darius McKeller, 3-star, No. 58 OT

While not necessarily highly regarded at the time, Alabama’s 2009 offensive class went on to become one of the most productive in history. The group yielded three first-round picks and four starters while playing a part in three national titles.

Despite being ranked as a three-star recruit, Warmack ended up becoming the biggest get. The former unanimous All-American is entering his seventh year in the NFL and was a member of the 2017 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Fluker also earned All-American honors at Alabama and is entering his eighth season in the NFL, while Carpenter, a member of the 2013 Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks is in his 10th season in the league. Steen went undrafted but started for the Crimson Tide and played four years in the NFL.

Like every class, this group had its share of non-impact players. However, when it comes to on-field success it’s hard to match.

— Luke Joeckel: 4-star, No. 39 overall, No. 5 OT (Drafted in first round, No. 2 overall in 2013)

— Jake Matthews: 4-star, No. 48 overall, No.7 OT (Drafted in first round, No. 6 overall in 2014)

— Cedrick Ogbuehi: 4-star 82 overall, No. 13 offensive tackle (Drafted in the first round, No. 21 overall in 2015)

—Shep Klinke: 4-star, 149 overall, No. 16 offensive tackle

— Garrett Gramling: 3-star

— Jarvis Harrison, 2-star (Drafted in the fifth round, No. 152 overall in 2015)

While Johnny Manziel was busy running circles around defenders at Texas A&M, this was the class that was blocking for him. The Aggies signed six offensive linemen in 2010. Three went on to become first-round picks, including two top-10 picks, while another was drafted in the fifth round.

From 2010-14, Texas A&M won 44 games, including four bowl games while producing a Heisman winner in Manziel. Not bad for an offensive line class that didn’t have a single five-star signee.

Joeckel, an Outland Trophy winner in 2012, started all 39 games of his college career before playing five years in the NFL. Matthews, a two-time All-American, made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and is entering his seventh season with the Atlanta Falcons. Ogbuehi, an All-American in 2014, is in his sixth year of the league while Harrison, two-star recruit, played in both the NFL and Canadian Football League.

Like Alabama in 2009, this class wasn’t highly rated from the start but ended up exceeding expectations.

— Kyle Murphy: 5-star, No. 19 overall, No. 3 OT (Drafted in the sixth round, No. 200 overall in 2016)

— Andrus Peat: 5-star, No. 32 overall, No. 6 OT (Drafted in the first round, No. 13 overall in 2015)

— Joshua Garnett: 4-star, No. 33 overall, No. 2 OG (Drafted in the first round, No. 28 overall in 2016)

— Brandon Fanaika: 4-star, No. 201 overall, No. 9 OG

— Graham Shuler: 4-star, No. 27 overall, No. 21 OT

— Nick Davidson: 4-sar, No. 34 OT

— Johnny Caspers: 3-star

This class proved instrumental in blocking for Christian McCaffrey’s stellar 2015 campaign when he broke Barry Sanders’ single-season all-purpose yard record while finishing runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. That year, the starting offensive line featured Murphy at left tackle, Outland Trophy winner Garnett at left guard, Shuler at center and Caspers at right guard.

Stanford’s seven-man offensive line class in 2021 included two five-stars, four four-stars and a three-star. Of that group, six linemen went on to become starters and three were drafted, including two first-rounders.

Andrus Peat, a two-time Pro Bowler, is entering his fifth season with the New Orleans Saints, who took him No. 13 overall in 2015. Fellow first-round pick Garnett as well as Murphy, a sixth-round pick, are both still in the league as well.

— Broderick Jones: 5-star, No. 5 overall, No. 1 OT

— Tate Ratledge: 5-star, No. 12 overall, No. 2 OT

— Sedrick Van Pran: 4-star, No. 83 overall, No. 1 C

— Chad Lindberg: 4-star, No. 178 overall, No. 18 OT

— Austin Blaske: 3-star, No. 47 OT

— Devin Willock: 3-star

We’re trusting our eyes here. While this class has yet to step on the field for Georgia, we have a feeling it is going to be pretty special. Not only were the Bulldogs able to secure the top two tackles in Jones and Ratledge, but they also netted the top center in Van Pran.

Don’t be surprised if we see plenty more showdowns between Alabama and Georgia in the SEC Championship game as both programs have built up monster offensive lines in recent years.

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