After leading Alabama’s offensive line last season, Tyler Booker predicted who might follow in his footsteps over the next few years. His candidate might catch the casual Crimson Tide fan by surprise.

Speaking to reporters at this year's NFL combine in Indianapolis, Booker named rising redshirt freshman William Sanders as a player to watch moving forward.

“I’m not sure if it’ll be next year, but in the future you’ll be hearing about Will Sanders,” Booker said when asked to name an Alabama player who will garner more attention this season. “That’s a guy who’s an Alabama native. He didn’t have the biggest name coming out, but he’s somebody who works hard every single day.”

Sanders saw time in just two games during his first year at Alabama last year, coming off the bench for limited reps against Western Kentucky and Mercer. The 6-foot-3, 309-pound Brookwood, Alabama native signed with the Tide as the No. 25 offensive guard in the 2024 class.

Along with his limited playing time, Sanders also played a role on Alabama’s scout team, earning recognition from the coaching staff for his efforts ahead of both the Georgia and Oklahoma games. While that served as one of the only times Sanders’ name was mentioned to the public last season, Booker said the young lineman has earned respect inside the Tide’s locker room.

“He’ll be borderline annoying sometimes, just asking me ‘How I look? How I look? How I look?’” Booker said with a smile. “But I appreciate that from him because he had a want to learn. He wants to learn all the time. He loves the game of football, you can tell he loves the game of football.

“He used somebody like me as an older guy to learn from, so I’m very excited to see how Will progresses over the next few years and I’ll always be rooting for that guy. He’s a great guy and a great football player.”

Alabama will open camp on Monday with the first of 15 spring practices. The Tide will conclude its spring camp with an A-Day event on April 12.