Alabama Working to Find Five Best For Offensive Line

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Last season, Alabama featured several offensive line combinations despite having veteran players at all five offensive line positions.

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That's (hopefully) not the case this year, as second-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb blatantly put it on Thursday morning following Alabama's second practice of fall camp.

"Best five, best five, no," Grubb said on Thursday. "We always - there's injuries - guys gotta move in and out, things like that, but certainly wanna get the gel right, right away. "

It may take some time for the "best five" to gel, however, as Alabama only has three spots on the offensive line locked down: Jackson Lloyd at left tackle, Racin Delgatty at center, and Michael Carroll at right guard. Beyond that, three players are competing for the left guard position: William Sanders, Mal Waldrep Jr., and Ethan Fields, while two players are competing for the right tackle position: Nick Brooks and Jayvin James.

"I think we're a little ways off yet, if I'm being honest," Grubb said when asked if he knew who the best five offensive linemen were. "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. So I don't think, obviously, he's gonna take all of camp. But you'd love that to sync up with your quarterback decision, so that you can get some unity going in the game."

A key piece to Alabama's offensive line this season will be new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, who has already caught the attention of Grubb on the practice field.

"I think the biggest thing about Klemm is that when you're looking at a position coach here, does this guy's got command, and is he a master teacher? And when I hear Klemm at practice, it's always coaching points. Even if he's upset, not upset, it doesn't really matter. There's a coaching point, there's a process going on," Grubb said. "That's what has always impressed me: there's an immediate answer; there's a solution. And the guys know what that is, and they can move on quickly."

Alabama returns to the practice field on Friday, August 7, and is set to open the season on Saturday, September 5, against East Carolina.

Listen to Ryan Grubb's full press conference here!

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.