Nick Saban says Alabama's offensive line has a 'better mentality'

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s offensive line struggled last season. In other news, the sky is blue. In all seriousness, everyone knows of those struggles by now. For the most part, the unit failed to keep quarterback Bryce Young adequately protected or create any sort of consistent push in the run game.

During the Nick Saban era, seeing a lack of dominance from the hogs up front is not the Alabama way.

This year, the Crimson Tide are searching for a new mentality. Or an old one, depending on how you look at the situation. Any changes, good or bad, will start with new offensive line coach Eric Wolford, who has received rave reviews since joining the program back in January.

While speaking to reporters during his media availability on Wednesday, Saban was asked about the offensive line. Be sure to take notice of the first thing he mentions, and then we’ll talk about why his response is an encouraging sign for the Crimson Tide.

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“I’m encouraged by the improvements that we made in the offensive line,” Saban said. “We seem to have a little better mentality. I think the personality of their coach has definitely added something to the mentality of how we play and what we’re doing and how we’re doing. I think the personality of the players is certainly something that has been a real positive in terms of how they approach things and what they’ve tried to do.

“So I feel more comfortable in the running game that we have. And we’re able to pass protect a little better. I’ve been really pleased with the progress that group has made.”

A response like that from Saban has to feel good if you’re an Alabama fan. He hit on a couple of key factors: mentality and coaching. Both are critically important to playing winning football. From the sound of it, those two things have been — or are being — addressed.

The Crimson Tide ranked No. 74 nationally in rushing offense last season, averaging only 150 yards per contest. To make matters worse, they tied Florida International (No. 120) in sacks allowed. Over 15 games, Alabama gave up 41 sacks, which averages out to a whopping 2.73 per game.

That’s unacceptable, and Saban knows it.

When former offensive line coach Doug Marrone chose to return to the NFL, Alabama turned to Wolford as his replacement. He’s been coaching college offensive lines since the mid-90s, and most recently, he had put together quality units at South Carolina (2017-20) and Kentucky (2021).

Now, Wolford has even more talent at his disposal.

Despite losing Evan Neal and Chris Owens at the two tackle spots, the Crimson Tide return plenty of experience and starters. In addition, transfer Tyler Steen has been brought in to address one of those two tackle vacancies. So far, so good, as the Vanderbilt standout has been impressive since his arrival.

Really, his transition has been more about getting used to a new culture in Tuscaloosa.

“I think Tyler’s got a lot of ability,” Saban told reporters last week. “I think that all of the new players that come in, it’s a little different culture here. They all have to sort of buy into the culture of how we do things. What we do, not easily satisfied with what we do and how we do it, and to challenge ourselves to be the best that we can be on every play. And I think that’s the question that I would have for a lot of different players, but Tyler has certainly shown a lot of ability. He’s made really good progress. He’s a bright guy.”

Oh, and there could be another encouraging sign that’s worth noting. Soon after the conclusion of Wednesday’s practice, Alabama Athletics released its typical B-roll for the media, which included practice clips and photos.

From what we were able to gather, Javion Cohen seemed to be working with the first-team offensive line at left guard. With Kendall Randolph working there a majority of the time during the two scrimmages, some had wondered if Cohen had somehow lost his job.

That notion does remain a possibility, but Wednesday’s B-roll points in a different direction. We’ll have to wait and see. But either way, Alabama’s offensive line is trending in the right direction. Obviously, there’s still work to be done prior to the season opener against Utah State, but fans have to be encouraged by Saban’s most recent comments.