Greg McElroy defends his ranking of Alabama on Top 10 offensive lines list

The Alabama Crimson Tide are going into their second season under head coach Kalen DeBoer with high expectations. Much of that is tied to their play along the offensive line.

Ahead of the season, analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy ranked that offensive line unit fourth on his Top 10 offensive lines list. That’s a ranking he’d defend on his show Always College Football.

“Some people think this is the best group in the country,” Greg McElroy said. “I’m not there yet. I think they lose their best player in Tyler Booker, and that’s not just along the offensive line. That’s their best player on the team last season. Having to replace him with Kam Dewberry will be incredibly difficult, but Dewberry has logged some solid reps at times at A&M in years past.”

While there is that question in replacing Tyler Booker, Alabama has plenty of other talented players along the offensive line. It’s those other stars that make this such a formidable unit, even amid a major question like that.

“I think center in Parker Brailsford is probably the best center in the country athletically. He’s gotten bigger, he’s gotten stronger. I have no concerns whatsoever with him. Then, at right guard, Jaeden Roberts was banged up all last year. I mean, the guy was hurt all last year, and still at times had some decent reps. Did struggle at times, but that was partly because of injury. So, if he can stay healthy, should be in good shape,” McElroy said.

“I’m just hoping that Kadyn Proctor reaches his ceiling this year. That might happen. That might not happen. He’s missed Spring multiple times. But he’s got an outrageously high ceiling. If he can reach his potential this year, then I think left tackle has a chance to be an All-American. Center has got a chance to be an All-American. Right guard has a chance to be an All-American. There’s not many teams that can say they have three guys that might have All-American candidacies. Right tackle is still a position of concern, naturally.”

To help break down the offensive line, Greg McElroy had fellow analyst and former Auburn offensive lineman Cole Cubelic on the show. For his part, Cubelic agreed that it all starts with Brailsford for Alabama.

“You hear about some of the stuff he’s doing in the weight room,” Cubelic said. “Which not a lot of people hear about. It’s what might be most impressive about him at his stature. And he’s not huge. He’s not really wide, but I really think playing next to Tyler Booker last year was the most beneficial thing that’s happened to him in his career, because a lot of how Booker played, you saw Brailsford begin to play and then some.”

Despite that, Cubelic does have a more more questions about the Alabama offensive line than McElroy does. In particular, he’s worried about the left tackle spot manned by Proctor. He’d echo concerns about lost Spring practice time but add some weight concerns on Proctor. At the same time, he noted that this is a unit led by a coordinator in Ryan Grubb who expects elite offensive line play.

“The one benefit that that group had last year that not a lot of people focus on is you essentially had two lighter guards playing on the field at tight end. I mean, you had two guys that could operate as offensive linemen at times. I don’t know if they’ll have that benefit,” Cubelic said. “But flip that into you’re bringing in an old school offensive line coach as your offensive coordinator and Ryan Grubb’s not gonna have it any other way.”

The Alabama offensive line is going to immediately get the chance to prove itself on the national stage this season. The Crimson Tide open with a road test against Florida State on August 30th. That game will have a national audience on ABC.