Alabama’s offensive line is still sorting itself out, but the picture is getting clearer by the day.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said the Crimson Tide are close to locking in five starters up front. Center is set with Cal Poly transfer Racin Delgatty, Jackson Lloyd is in at left tackle, and Michael Carroll has moved inside to start at right guard. That still leaves left guard and right tackle as the two open spots.
Grubb said the group has started to come together in a major way as camp has gone on.
"In the last two days, we’ve really kind of finalized our run game package, got all our gap scheme in, so we’re able to expand some of the things that we didn’t do in the scrimmage and really took advantage of all those," Grubb said. "And when they’re able to put everything together with the ones, I thought they gelled really, really well today and ran the ball really well. Probably the best we have all camp, honestly."
At left guard, Mal Waldrep appears to have the edge thanks to his "toughness, physicality and intelligence," Grubb said. He also pointed to Waldrep’s "communication and physicality in the run game, but William Sanders is still being given a shot."
Sanders has been limited at times, but Grubb said he has made progress after missing time.
"He's had a really good couple days, you know, and he hasn't been able to fully be out here," Grubb said after Alabama's 10th fall camp practice Monday, Aug. 17.
"They had to reevaluate him for a little bit, so he missed a little bit of time. Got back out there, and I really feel like, you know, he had the last couple days where he got back out there and felt comfortable.
It's first time I've seen Will doing that in a while."
Grubb added that Waldrep and Sanders are "pretty equal in pass protection."
Right tackle is shaping up as a straight fight between Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James and Texas transfer Nick Brooks. Grubb said the competition has become a real one.
"Those guys have really started to, you know, turn that into a real battle," Grubb said.
Brooks played 221 snaps in 2026 as a freshman for Texas, according to Pro Football Focus, with most of those reps coming at left guard. James logged 855 snaps for Mississippi State, also per PFF, and spent most of his time at left tackle.
"Jayvin is an intelligent player," Grubb said. "Nick's just got to execute at a little higher level."
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There is still time for Alabama to clean it up, with several practices and another scrimmage left before the regular season opener. Even so, the message is already established: the offense cannot afford to spend August easing into things and hope the issue disappears on its own. For a group trying to build rhythm under a new staff, the next stretch of camp should tell plenty about whether those early struggles are becoming a habit or just another item to fix. [Read more 🡒]