Why Alabama's offensive line is college football's version of Zach Edey

Purdue center Zach Edey has helped lead the Boilermakers to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament behind some dominant play, with the 7-foot-4 big man making his presence felt around the rim game after game during Purdue’s impressive run.

A narrative that’s been widely discussed surrounding Edey is his play style that’s come with officiating that’s frustrating for Purdue’s opponents, known for his ability to draw a high volume of fouls on the offensive end of the floor but limit getting called for fouls on the defensive end.

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Football season may be a ways away, but On3’s Andy Staples was asked if there’s a football equivalent to Edey’s foul-calling conventions.

“So is there anybody in college football like that?” Staples asked. “Not a player, I was thinking did Cam Newton get officiated differently because he was a superhuman? It’s just hard to do that in college football because how do you officiate someone differently like that? Where you see the conspiracy theories in college football are on the line of scrimmage.”

Drawing a direct football player comparison to Edey may be challenging, but Staples did find a team that he feels has a similar narrative surrounding them in terms of fouls and penalty calls.

“Like there are Tennessee fans, LSU fans, various SEC fan bases who contend that Alabama never gets called for holding,” Staples said. “Now they occasionally do get called for holding, but you’ll see the clips on YouTube where they have compiled many instances where it looks like there’s an Alabama offensive lineman holding and nothing got called. So there’s that conspiracy theory.”

Staples added that this conspiracy is a two-way street, citing fan basses like Nebraska and Florida State who in recent history have claimed that holding penalties don’t get called against their opponents. But in regards to holding penalties and foul calls on Edey, Staples believes that a combination of facts and bias exists depending on one’s perspective.

“Sometimes there’s truth to it, you see the numbers and they’re just not calling stuff. Sometimes it’s very selective memory. My team lost therefore I think the refs jobbed us,” Staples explained. “Going back to Alabama, the Alabama fans are convinced the refs screwed them out of the 2022 Tennessee game. The Tennessee fans are absolutely convinced the refs screwed them out of the 2023 Alabama game.”

“The fact of the matter is I don’t know if the ref screwed either team. One team lost in 2022. One team lost in 2023. But that’s that’s what you see more in college football in college.”

Fans will have to wait until August to see if the Crimson Tide receive any special treatment from officials on the gridiron. But their basketball team along with Edey’s Boilermakers will take part in the Final Four this weekend on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.