Alabama’s offensive line has a much different look than it did when it last took the field for the A-Day game in the spring.
Parker Brailsford, the Washington transfer, has returned to practice with the team at the starting center position. Also returning to practice on Wednesday was a familiar face that didn’t practice with the Crimson Tide in the spring.
Kadyn Proctor, who started 14 games at left tackle for the Crimson Tide during his freshman season last year, officially took the practice field after bouncing around the transfer portal this offseason. Proctor entered the portal after Nick Saban’s retirement to transfer to Iowa but ended up transferring back to Alabama in April.
Since he missed spring practices, Proctor has some work to do to regain his starting spot at left tackle. On Wednesday, Proctor ran drills with the second team offensive line. Coach Kalen DeBoer kept his first-team tackles the same as spring with Elijah Pritchett at left tackle and Wilkin Formby on the right. However, DeBoer mentioned that there was a rotation at the tackle spot.
"Pritchett took a lot of reps. He had a nice day," DeBoer said. "I thought Wilkin did a nice job. So a lot of mixing and matching, especially at the tackle position, I guess. The interior three was pretty consistent."
The interior line was as expected, with Tyler Booker and Jaeden Roberts at the guard positions, while Brailsford got the nod at the starting center position.
During his time between Iowa and Alabama, Proctor met with a personal trainer who helped him shed around 10 pounds to get a bit leaner for fall practice with the Crimson Tide. DeBoer has been impressed with a leaner Proctor.
“It feels like he’s in really good shape, and lean,” DeBoer said. “When you ask people who would have an understanding, Coach Ballou and so forth, it would be nothing but positive about the progress he has made. Strength and explosive numbers I know are up, that’s fact, that’s real. And also the way his body looks. Leaner. He’s just so dense and has so much mass he’s going to be big no matter what.”
Wednesday was the first of 20 fall practices the Crimson Tide have scheduled before beginning game week for the August 31 season opener against Western Kentucky.
The Tide have just a month for DeBoer to put together a strong offensive line, which he feels is the key to the offense's success.
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