TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Midway through Alabama’s preseason practices, one of the biggest position battles is still ongoing and likely will play out into the season. The offensive line is one of the most consequential units to the Tide’s success this season, and while Kadyn Proctor seemingly has regained his starting position at left tackle, the battle between Wilkin Formby and Elijah Pritchett at right tackle continues.
“I see improvements from both,” position coach Chris Kapilovic said. “But I would say it’s going to continue to go throughout camp until somebody shows that they’re clearly better than the other.
“If we get to play them both, we’ll play them both.”
Formby, a redshirt freshman, consistently has worked with the first team throughout media-viewed position periods through 12 practices. Last weekend, he worked with the starters during Saturday’s scrimmage and in Sunday’s practice. Despite this, he hasn’t fully separated from Pritchett, a sophomore, who has more in-game experience and spent spring practice as the first-team left tackle.
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“I think (Formby) does a great job of understanding the scheme, makes the good calls,” Kapilovic said. “He’s got the tools to be a good player for us. Pritchett, when he’s playing hard and with an edge to him, he can be a physically dominating player. And when that shows up he does a really nice job in pass protection and against the run.
“So we’re looking for a little more push from Wilkin and more consistency from Pritchett, and we’ll have two really good players. If two guys are proven and doing a good job, there’s nothing wrong with playing two guys out there.”
Wilkin Formby (75) is working at right tackle this preseason in a competition with Elijah Pritchett. (Gary Cosby Jr. / USA Today)
A tackle rotation wouldn’t be new as Proctor and Pritchett split in-game reps at left tackle through the early part of the 2023 season until Proctor assumed the role long-term. If there’s an early rotation to start the year, the six-man group includes center Parker Brailsford and guards Tyler Booker and Jaeden Roberts.
Along the second unit, there has been a healthy amount of rotation in an attempt to build depth. The most consistent group has been Pritchett/Formby and Miles McVay at tackle, Olaus Alinen and Roq Montgomery at guard and Geno VanDeMarkwho’s also the top backup guard with 18 games of experience, at center.
Proctor and Brailsford have shown continuous improvement through August, a good sign considering both faced their own versions of adversity in the spring/summer with Proctor missing time as a transfer and Brailsford missing a long stretch of spring for personal reasons. Both have been fully engaged since the start of summer and have helped stabilize four of the five positions on the first team.
“Beginning of camp to now, (Proctor’s pass protection) has really improved,” Kapilovic said. “Dominant in the run game which is what you’d expect. I think he’s done well grasping the offense in his short time with us. He can be dominant if we get every phase headed in the right direction.”
“I think Brailsford really bonded with everyone. He comes in, and his offensive line coach leaves, coordinator leaves, and he’s in a room with guys he doesn’t know. You really saw some growth this summer and there’s a lot of trust and a high respect factor within him and the team so it’s going well.”
Injury updates
While deemed not serious by coach Kalen DeBoer, several players have been limited by injury. The bulk of the attrition is at running back where all the scholarship players except for Justice Haynes sported non-contact jerseys (Jam Miller, Richard Young, Kevin Riley) or didn’t participate (Daniel Hill) so far this week. Along the offensive line, redshirt freshman Alinen was limited (but in a normal jersey) after not practicing on Sunday. In his absence, Montgomery assumed the bulk of second-team guard snaps, VanDeMark slid from center to the other guard spot and true freshman Joseph Ionata moved from third-team center to the second team. The shuffling means that Montgomery is working as the third-team guard as Ionata moves up.
“(Montgomery) is playing center and guard for us,” Kapilovic said. “I think he’s grown in understanding the offense and making the calls we need at center. I really think his pass protection he’s improved quite a bit since spring. So we just need him to keep coming along and working on his athleticism, but he’s done some positive things.”
The most notable injury is at inside linebacker where Jihaad Campbell is limited but still wearing a normal jersey. It’s a minor setback in what has been a positive August for Campbell, who’s noticeably more comfortable in his second full year at inside backer.
“I think he’s really done a great job of understanding the details that it takes in the run-fits and the communication piece,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “I think Jihaad’s another guy who can be a green-dot (in-helmet communication) type guy for us.”
Overton opens up
LT Overton, a Tuscaloosa native, has vivid memories of Alabama football. His father, Milton Overton, was senior associate athletics director for Alabama from 2009-15. His mother, Eunice Thomas, was an academic coordinator for Alabama from 2009-19. Overton recalls many flights to Nick Saban-era games, including Saban’s first game, on the team plane.
Overton transferred to Alabama in the winter window in search of a football reset. To this point, the Bandit (or strongside defensive end) has been one of the biggest movers on the roster in August. He was a member of Texas A&M’s famed 2022 recruiting class as a reclassified player (from 2023) but didn’t feel like his strengths were optimized in two seasons in College Station.
“I went into A&M at about 280 (pounds),” Overton said. “I dropped down to about 245-250 (to play the role A&M desired). I feel like I wasn’t being used to my best abilities back then when it came to dropping (into coverage) most plays. Now that I’m mostly a hand-down, man-down person, I feel like I can use my abilities to the best.”
Even under Saban, whom Overton originally committed to, it was always the plan for Overton to lose weight to fill a role left by Justin Eboigbe (now with the Los Angeles Chargers) as a defensive end who can play across the line. Overton is now 284 pounds and is emerging as a consistent pass rusher.
Overton and senior Jah-Marien Latham are the top candidates for the Bandit position but likely will see snaps together this fall. One look that the defense worked through in practice this week is two Bandits, two interior linemen and an outside linebacker for a heavier look. That included Overton, Latham, Tim Keenan III, Tim Smith and Que Robinson.
“LT’s got a great skill set,” Wommack said. “You can tell he’s honed in his pass rush ability. He’s got really good complementary answers to his fastball. He’s a great speed-to-power rusher.
“Him and (Latham), they can do a lot of different things. I’m impressed with their athleticism, those guys can really move for guys to be that big. I would say from a prototype bandit position it makes things really challenging to establish runs when you have a 280-pound ass kicker over there.”
Freshmen showing flashes
Two true freshmen appear to have roles this fall at cornerback and wide receiver in Zabien Brown and Ryan Williams. Two other names at those positions who are making a move are receiver Caleb Odom and cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe.
Odom flashed in Saturday’s scrimmage with an impressive one-hand catch, ironically over Mbakwe, and continues to carry momentum from spring practice. At 6-foot-5 and 220-plus pounds, Odom has a frame that can be utilized in this system in spot situations. The rotation is still in flux, but he has given himself a chance to earn snaps.
#Alabama 5 ⭐️ Freshman WR Caleb Odom made a CRAZY one-handed sideline catch in the #Tide’s scrimmage earlier today 👀🔥
Odom was ranked as the #1 TE in the 2024 Class pic.twitter.com/NhUekhORDc
— Recruits Bama (@RecruitsBama) August 10, 2024
“Every day, Caleb does something to impress you,” offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said. “In every moment that Caleb’s out there, he’s getting coached extremely hard. We’re super happy with where Caleb’s at, and we know there’s still even more for him to grow and get better at, and he’s working on that every day.”
Mbakwe, a five-star athlete transitioning from quarterback to cornerback, has been a pleasant surprise in terms of his accelerated growth from the spring. Brown and veterans Domani Jackson and DaShawn Jones lead the way in the cornerback competition, but Mbakwe is perhaps closer to rotational snaps sooner than originally expected. He’s also in the mix on special teams as a returner.
“He made strides in the springtime and has taken his game to another level through the summer,” Wommack said. “What he has shown in fall camp, we feel he is going to have a role for us. He had a great day (on Tuesday). He’s just really starting to hone in and play with anticipation as opposed to ‘I’ve got to get my feet right,’ and all that. He’s starting to recognize and anticipate. It’s good to see.”
(Top photo of Elijah Pritchett (57): Gary Cosby Jr. / USA Today)
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Publish date : 2024-08-14 13:00:00
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