Alabama OL looking to improve communication, build on close to USF game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama offensive line struggled, especially in pass protection, for the second week in a row. After having a chance to break down the game film from the Crimson Tide’s 17-3 win over South Florida, Nick Saban assessed the play of the O-line.

“I think the players were not communicating well and not on the same page sometimes, and I think that created issues and problems,” Saban said Monday. “I thought that the offensive line played like our offensive line needs to play in the last 6:29 of the game, and that’s something that we wanna build on.”

Alabama was without starting left guard Tyler Booker, who dressed out and went through drills in pregame but didn’t play against USF because of back spasms. That left Terrence Ferguson to replace him in the starting lineup, and the entire unit had issues with pass protection.

But the last drive of last week’s game saw Alabama march 80 yards in 11 plays and utilize 5:56 of game time to go up by two touchdowns with less than a minute to play in Raymond James Stadium. As Saban said, that’s they way this offensive line wants to play this season.

“It was definitely important,” said Alabama right tackle JC Latham on Monday. “It showed us the potential that we have. It showed us what we can do when we all play as one and play in unison. It gave us everything we needed to know about our group and how we can finish. I know we’ve got that in us, and we just have to do it for 60 minutes.”

But the Tide needs to clean up its mistakes from the previous 53:31 of game action.

Alabama (2-1) gave up five sacks to the Bulls’ defense, including three to senior defensive back Daquan Evans, who entered the game with zero career sacks. The Tide quarterbacks – Tyler Buchner started the road game but was replaced by Ty Simpson, who finished it, in the second quarter – didn’t have time to throw, regardless of how many blockers they had.

Alabama has allowed 10 sacks in its last two outings, and freshman left tackle Kadyn Proctor is responsible for four of them, per Pro Football Focus. A former 5-star recruit, Proctor won the job at left tackle in preseason camp but has struggled to begin his collegiate career.

A veteran on the offensive line, Latham shared his advice to his younger teammate.

“He’s young,” Latham said of Proctor. “You can look at all the greats. Like Kobe, he air-balled his first shot. Jordan not making varsity in high school. Not everybody has the perfect career or even the perfect start. Everybody goes through their own trials and tribulations. 

“You can’t really compare what you’re going through to somebody else. At the end of the day, he’ll turn out to be one of the best tackles in the country, and we’ll all look back at this and see it as a learning curve.”

Alabama’s 12 sacks allowed through the first three weeks of the season are the second-most in the SEC. The Tide is getting set to face an Ole Miss team, led by former defensive coordinator Pete Golding, that is tied for third in the conference with 10 sacks. As SEC play is set to start for UA, the offensive line is looking to sustain and finish better, according to Latham.

“In my opinion, especially on defense, we do a great job of coming out with energy,” Latham said. “But it’s just little things and drive-killers that tend to get us. Eliminating drive-killers and being able to sustain for all four quarters. I know what type of team we have. We’ve got the guys to get the job done and play to the standard.”

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