First real test in Lexington

Alabama's offensive line opened SEC play against a talented Kentucky defensive front, and it had to do it without its best player, Michael Carroll.

Messy, but it worked

There were pressures and pre-snap penalties. There were also 150 rushing yards in the second half, which is the number that actually settles the argument.

Nobody in the room was surprised

Left tackle Jackson Lloyd framed the ground game as the standard, not the highlight. The group has stopped treating a big rushing half as an event.

“That's kind of just what we expect now. We kind of expect ourselves to do that.”

The 2025 hangover

This unit spent the whole offseason under a microscope after an underwhelming 2025 season. Every snap this fall is being read against that.

Klemm gutted the room

Alabama hired offensive line coach Adrian Klemm to transform the position group. He did it by installing four new starters.

Cohesion was the whole plan

The bet was that building chemistry through the offseason would show up as consistency once games started. Kentucky was the first evidence either way.

Building, not arrived

Lloyd said the line has kept climbing since fall camp but is honest about how far it still has to go.

“We're not where we need to be yet, but we're getting there.”

Carroll's absence hit the guards

Losing Carroll pushed the pressure onto starting guards William Sanders and Mal Waldrep, who had spent fall camp competing against each other at left guard.

Left guard is still open

Sanders and Waldrep split reps at the spot against East Carolina, and the full-time job appears to still be up for grabs. Both helped their case at Kentucky.

Grubb's read on Waldrep

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb called Waldrep a plug-and-play lineman who communicates well, plays physical, and does not shrink in big moments.

“He's tough. He's physical. He showed up in the run game, and he is a confident kid.”

Two pieces moved, not one

Sanders slid to the right side, so the line had to re-sort communication with both tackles at once. Grubb said they did not miss a beat.

“Now all of a sudden, you've got to make a big decision about two pieces moving, not just one.”

The real exams are coming

Lloyd draws South Carolina's Dylan Stewart in two weeks, then comes a midseason run of Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU. Nobody is calling this fixed yet.

“No one's getting complacent around here. No one's thinking we're good enough yet.”