Six could be a magic number when it comes to Alabama’s position battles on offense this weekend. During Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference, Kalen DeBoer provided an estimate on the number of players who will see significant snaps for both his receiving corps and his offensive line.
You won’t find an over/under line on Alabama’s rotation at either position group in even the most niche sportsbooks. But if one did exist, it would probably be set at six.
Things are a bit more fluid at the receiver position where Alabama can alter how many wideouts are on the field depending on its formation. Returning juniors Kobe Prentice and Kendrick Law figure to be contenders for a starting role, as do Washington transfer Germie Bernard and five-star freshman Ryan Williams. While those four have taken the bulk of first-team reps during camp, the Tide has plenty of depth available to round out its rotation.
“I’d say we’re fairly confident with anywhere from five to seven, but it’s hard to put a number on that,” DeBoer said. “There are some guys, depending on the flow of the game, could end up playing more or less. There’s a rotation. We run a lot of ones and twos in every practice like most people do. We have six solid guys for sure and there are a couple there that are pushing pretty hard.”
Outside of Bernard, Law, Prentice and Williams, Alabama has seen a few more names emerge in the unit. Emmanuel Henderson appears to have made significant strides entering his junior year, while redshirt freshman Cole Adams has consistently come up big in game-like settings this offseason. Meanwhile, true freshmen Caleb Odom and Rico Scott have also shown off their potential this month.
That makes eight possible contributors, which could cause some difficult decisions for DeBoer and his staff. As far as problems go, that’s a good one to have.
“Naturally, we’ll substitute different packages,” DeBoer said. “We’ve always done that. It gives a lot of guys a different chance to get on the field. Different combinations might line up in different spots. That naturally happens. I think early in the season, you want to give as many guys as you think can be in the mix a chance. That being said, you’ve got to make sure you can execute and guys can get into a rhythm as well.”
Things are different on the offensive line, which will feature five players on the field outside of rare goal-line formations. Alabama has the majority of its front five figured out.
The Tide returns both its starting guards from last year in Tyler Booker and Jaeden Roberts. Meanwhile, Kadyn Proctor has earned back his first-team role at left tackle after his boomerang trip through the transfer portal. Speaking of the portal, Washington transfer Parker Brailsford has cemented himself as the top center and has impressed the past month after missing most of the spring due to non-football-related issues.
That leaves right tackle as the lone spot in question. Throughout camp, redshirt freshman Wilkin Formby has handled most of the first-team reps at the position. However, he’s being pushed hard by redshirt sophomore Elijah Pritchett, who battled Proctor for the starting left tackle role last fall.
“I think you could easily see us playing six offensive linemen throughout the game, rotating at one position and that being right tackle,” DeBoer said. “We have a guy or two that will continue to come up but not competing right now for necessarily one of those starting spots.”
DeBoer is most likely referring to Michigan State transfer Geno VanDeMark in the back half of his statement. VanDeMark filled in at right guard for Roberts after the starter sustained an upper-body injury during Alabama’s second preseason scrimmage on Aug. 17. Monday, DeBoer said Roberts would practice and be ready to go this week. However, VanDeMark might see extended action should Alabama look to limit Roberts’ reps in Week 1.
No. 5 Alabama will open its season against Western Kentucky on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.
