Alabama’s offensive line has plenty of bodies, but it still doesn’t have the clean answer Kalen DeBoer’s staff wants.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb made it plain after Alabama’s second fall practice Thursday, Aug. 6: the Crimson Tide are still searching for the “best five” up front, and they are not there yet.
“I think we're a little ways off yet, if I'm being honest,” Grubb said. “I think we got some time here.
We got a lot of banked reps. So, we've seen all these guys - with the exception of Will (Sanders), most of these guys have been out there quite a bit. ...
But you'd love that to sync up with your quarterback decision, so that you can get some unity going in the game.”
That last part is the crux of it. Alabama can rotate and evaluate all it wants in August, but the goal is a line that settles in and plays together fast. Grubb knows that kind of continuity matters, even if the roster and the injuries don’t always make it easy.
Still, there’s no shortage of competition.
Jackson Lloyd is locked in at left tackle, while Racin Delgatty has the center spot and Michael Carroll is set at right guard. At right tackle, Texas transfer Nick Brooks and Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James are still battling for snaps after going “back and forth in the spring,” as Grubb put it.
“Both those guys are getting their footing and trying to show demand, like, 'This is my job,'” Grubb said.
The other unsettled spot is left guard, where William Sanders and Mal Waldrep Jr. are in what Grubb called “a heck of a battle.”
Lloyd said the room has kept its edge throughout camp, even without a final five-man answer.
“I mean, we all came in with the mindset we needed to get better and we all wanted to get better,” Lloyd said. “There weren't many days or any days where we came in with no energy. We always came in with that sense of urgency to be our best selves.”
The challenge for Alabama is not just picking starters, but finding the combination that can stay on the field. Eight different Alabama linemen played at least 100 snaps in 2025, and Grubb made it clear that’s not the kind of turnover he wants to repeat in 2026.
The standard, Lloyd said, is simple.
“Greatness,” Lloyd said. “I mean, that's what everyone expects here.
I mean that's a standard. The standard's our best so he expects our best day in and day out.”
Alabama opens the 2026 season Saturday, Sept. 5, at 11 a.m. CT against East Carolina.
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