Darrian Dalcourt shares how Alabama feels about ongoing tackle battle

As fall camp has worn on for Alabama, so too have a couple of tightly contested position battles. One that will be vitally important is the ongoing tackle battle.

There are a handful of players competing for a starting tackle spot still.

“I think everybody competing for the tackle position has shown a lot, whether it’s (Elijah) Pritchett or whether it’s Kadyn (Proctor),” veteran offensive lineman Darrian Dalcourt said. “They’ve both developed a lot since the spring. And we appreciate them getting better and taking every rep seriously.”

Both Proctor and Pritchett are freshmen, with Pritchett going into his redshirt freshman season. He saw minimal action in his first season, appearing against Austin Peay and Kansas State.

Proctor, meanwhile, was one of the top recruits in the country last year.

He was ranked as a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, tabbed as the No. 9 overall player in the nation. He was the top-ranked offensive tackle in his class and the top overall player in the state of Iowa, hailing from Des Moines (Iowa) Southeast Polk.

Both are likely to continue to push for snaps during the season, even after a starter is named in the ongoing tackle battle.

Tim Keenan pushing the O-line

One player on the defensive side of the ball who has been giving the Alabama offensive line great work during fall camp is defensive tackle Tim Keenan.

Keenan is a redshirt sophomore who hasn’t done a ton in games just yet.

“Tim has done a really good job,” head coach Nick Saban said. “He lost weight, he got in much better shape, he’s moving a lot better, he’s a lot quicker. He’s always had a lot of explosive power, so he’s been a really pleasant surprise in this camp to be a guy that’s playing like a starter, actually.”

A 6-foot-2, 315-pound defensive tackle from Birmingham, Ala., he appeared in two games in 2022, appearing against Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Monroe. He recorded one tackle and a half tackle for a loss.

Alabama will open its season on Sept. 2 with a game against MTSU.