In recent years, Alabama has been known as a team that will simply overpower opposing defenses on the offensive line, paving the way for a potent running attack and acting as an impassable wall to protect quarterbacks.
This year, however, the offensive line for the Crimson Tide has seemed a little out of sorts, allowing tons of quarterback pressure and penetration against the run. For the first time in a long time, the offensive line seems human.
Perhaps it’s only growing pains, as head coach Nick Saban keeps experimenting with shifting players around on the line of scrimmage. Still, one aspect of the O-line which has remained constant is senior center William Vlachos.
Vlachos, a three-year starter for the Tide, provides leadership and experience on an offensive line that is still struggling for continuity. For Saban, this proves invaluable for his offense.
“William Vlachos and Barrett Jones have both done a really good job from a leadership standpoint, on the offensive line,” Saban said. “They have a lot of knowledge and experience, and they’re smart. And they’ve got great personalities to help the other guys.”
Vlachos’ value reaches even beyond being a leader for the offensive line. He also competes fiercely against the Tide’s defensive line during practice, allowing them to see playing time against one of the most technically sound offensive linemen in the nation.
“I’ve been going against William Vlachos for many years, from high school up,” senior defensive tackle Josh Chapman said. “He’s a great center…. I mean, it helps you day in and day out.”
There has been a definite improvement on the offensive line from the first week to the second week of the season. Alabama didn’t allow any sacks against the Nittany Lions on Saturday, as opposed to two sacks allowed against Kent State. And even though the Tide didn’t have as much offensive output against Penn State as it did Kent State, one got the feeling that the offensive linemen seemed more comfortable together as the game went along, and definitely started enforcing their will on Penn State.
The Tide paved the way for junior running back Trent Richardson to rush for 111 yards, as opposed to a meager 37 yards against the Golden Flashes, and kept quarterback A.J. McCarron virtually untouched. And at the center of it all was Vlachos.
For Saturday’s game against Penn State, Vlachos was named as one of the Tide’s offensive players of the week, receiving the top grade on the offensive line and helping the Tide roll to 196 yards rushing. He also didn’t get called for any penalties.
Still, Saban said that despite the overall improvement on the line of scrimmage and the leadership of players like Vlachos, there is still a lot of room for improvement on the offensive line.
“I do think, as the game wore on at Penn State, we started to win the line of scrimmage, and started to assert our will a little bit as an offensive line,” Saban said. “Now we need to continue to do the other things as well, and we’ll continue to work to try to improve that, but those two guys [Vlachos and Jones] have done a really good job from a leadership standpoint.”
