Alabama’s offensive line is about to get a fresh start in 2026, and the biggest spotlight is landing on sophomore Jackson Lloyd at left tackle.
The Crimson Tide are set to replace first-round pick Kadyn Proctor with Lloyd, who is projected to take over on the blind side in his second season. Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb made it clear early in spring camp that he already liked what he had seen.
"He has really stood out as a guy that we're going to be really excited about as our left tackle," Grubb said of Lloyd back on March 12.
Lloyd has only appeared in five games so far, but he now steps into a role that has become familiar territory for Alabama’s elite tackle recruits. The Tide have cycled through a long run of five-star linemen at the position, and their first seasons as starters have not all looked the same.
Some were ready from the jump. Others had to wait, move around, or take a slower path before settling in.
Cam Robinson set the tone for that group. A top overall player in the class of 2014, he walked into Tuscaloosa and started all 14 games at left tackle as a true freshman.
That season brought freshman All-American recognition from Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America, and it also launched a run that included three straight SEC titles, the 2015 national championship, and an Outland Trophy in 2016. Robinson later went 34th overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Pass blocking grade: 74.9
Run blocking grade: 71.3
Pressures allowed: 18
Sacks allowed: 2
Jonah Williams followed a similar path, though he began on the right side in 2016 with Robinson in his final Alabama season. Williams started all 15 games that year and earned freshman All-American honors from USA Today and ESPN. He stayed in the lineup for three seasons, shifted to left tackle for his final two years, and eventually became a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019.
Pass blocking grade: 78.9
Run blocking grade: 73.7
Pressures allowed: 15
Sacks allowed: 4
Alex Leatherwood took a more gradual route. He played in seven games as a true freshman, then earned a starting job in 2018 at guard, where he gave up 21 pressures on 486 pass blocking snaps.
Once Williams left for the NFL, Leatherwood moved to left tackle in 2019 and turned into one of the nation’s best at the position, picking up first-team All-America honors from the AFCA. He returned for the 2020 title run and later became a first-round pick of the Raiders in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Pass blocking grade: 81.9
Run blocking grade: 72.3
Pressures allowed: 10
Sacks allowed: 0
Evan Neal’s Alabama path was different again. The No. 1 tackle in the class of 2019 by Rivals started his career at right guard because of the talent ahead of him.
He started all 13 games there as a freshman and allowed just one sack in 423 pass blocking snaps. In 2020, he moved to right tackle and, in his first season starting there, gave up nine pressures and two sacks during the shortened COVID season.
Neal then shifted to left tackle in 2021 before becoming a first-round pick of the Giants in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Pass blocking grade: 73.1
Run blocking grade: 86.4
Pressures allowed: 9
Sacks allowed: 2
J.C. Latham also had to wait before locking down a starting job.
Rated the best offensive lineman in the class of 2021 by all major recruiting outlets, he did not start on offense as a freshman, though he was a starter on special teams units. He won the right tackle job in 2022 and started all 13 games, then stayed there in 2023.
Latham did not allow a sack on 517 pass blocking stats according to PFF and later went No. 7 overall to the Tennessee Titans in the 2024 NFL draft.
Pass blocking grade: 84.6
Run blocking grade: 72.2
Pressures allowed: 12
Sacks allowed: 0
The list also includes a tougher outcome. Kadyn Proctor, a five-star in the 2023 class, was pushed into the starting lineup immediately as a true freshman at left tackle.
That first season was rocky. PFF credited him with 12 sacks allowed, and he drew plenty of criticism.
Proctor briefly transferred to Iowa after Saban’s retirement, then came back to Alabama and started the next two seasons under Kalen DeBoer, where he improved enough to become a first-round pick in the latest NFL draft.
Pass blocking grade: 58.8
Run blocking grade: 67.2
Pressures allowed: 36
Sacks allowed: 12
The one outlier in the group is Tommy Pritchett. He was Alabama’s third-highest rated player in the 2022 class according to 247sports, behind only Jihaad Campbell and Ty Simpson, but his career never reached the same level as the others.
He did not become a starter until his third season in Tuscaloosa, when he won the right tackle job. In 2024, he started 11 of Alabama’s 13 games, allowed 30 pressures and six sacks, and transferred to Nebraska after the season.
Pass blocking grade: 43.9
Run blocking grade: 52.2
Pressures allowed: 30
Sacks allowed: 6
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