5x5: The Best Alabama Centers During the Nick Saban Era

Five different ways to rate the top players at each position for the Crimson Tide during the greatest dynasty in college football history.

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Is he a center? Or a guard? Or a guard who played center? Or a center who played guard? That’s sort of the key starting point when it comes to picking the best centers of the Nick Saban era with the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the lines are definitely blurred.

We could have combined the positions, but it didn’t seem fair to the pure centers, the guys who were recruited to play in the middle of the offensive line and pretty much knew it would be the only place they could play at this level.

A person who especially comes to mind in that regard is William Vlachos. “Nacho” was in Saban’s first recruiting class, the one he had to piece together in roughly a month after taking over the Crimson Tide in January 2007. Out of Mountain Brook High School in the Birmingham area, Vlachos was listed as 6-0, 295 pounds, but didn’t have much length or reach.

Yet his technique was terrific and Vlachos ended up starting 40 straight games at center, blocking for 27 100-yard rushers. He was named a second-team All-American, first-team All-SEC and a Rimington Trophy finalist (national award for the best center).

This isn’t to suggest that Vlachos couldn’t have played guard. He did. But center was clearly his position, and where he could make the biggest difference on two national championship teams. Consequently, he also made our top-five list. 

BamaCentral is doing a position-by-position look at the Saban era, with five different ways to rate the top five players. The 5x5 series will include recruiting ratings, a telling statistic, awards and the NFL draft before compiling it all for an overall 1-5 ranking. With 15 full seasons of data, there are a lot of factors that can be weighed, and debated — which we encourage.

During that time span there are numerous examples of guards playing center, and centers playing guard as Saban's coaches aimed to get their best five offensive linemen (or the five who play best together) on the field. Barrett Jones went from being a starting guard, to winning the Outland Trophy at left tackle, to playing his final season at center. He won the Rimington, but for our purposes he’ll be listed at the position he was both recruited and drafted to play, guard.

Before he transferred in from Florida State, Landon Dickerson also played at other spots. He was the first true freshman to start for the Seminoles on the offensive lineman since Jamie Dukes in 1982. But his first three seasons all ended the same way, with an injury: An ACL after seven starts at right guard, an ankle after four starts at left guard, and another ankle injury after just one start at right tackle in 2018. Despite being a natural guard, Alabama moved Dickerson to center, where he won the Rimington and was a unanimous First-Team All-American in 2020.

Ross Pierschbacher was an established guard at Alabama, but slid over for his final season and subsequently selected in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to primarily be a center at the next level (who could also play guard). He was named a second-team All-American at both positions with the Crimson Tide, but was more of a guard at the collegiate level. 

The center with the highest rating as a recruit was someone who ended up being a three-year starter at right guard, Emil Ekiyor Jr. The year he redshirted, the product of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis was listed third on the depth chart at center behind Pierschbacher and Chris Owens. He subsequently made 40 starts at guard (and led the team in knockdown blocks last season with 31) while remaining an emergency option at center but never made a start at the position. 

The Best Alabama Centers During the Nick Saban Era

Five different ways to rate the top players at each position for the Crimson Tide during the greatest dynasty in college football history.

Recruiting

The top 5 center prospects when signing with the Crimson Tide:

1. Emil Ekiyor Jr., 2018
2. Ryan Kelly, 2011
3. JC Hassenauer, 2014
4. William Vlachos, 2007
5. Joshua Casher, 2014

Just missing was current Crimson Tide center Seth McLaughlin. 

Marvin Gentry / USA Today Sports

Key Statistic

Outside of blocking grades and botched snaps there aren't too many individual statistics associated with playing center, the position that's often referred to as being the captain of the offensive line.

Nevertheless, Alabama has had some impressive longevity at the position, including Antoine Caldwell (four-year starter including three at center) and William Vlachos during the early Saban years.

When Ross Pierschbacher finally slid over in 2018 and played 15 games at center, it came after making 42 starts at left guard. His 57 career starts, including eight in the College Football Playoff, is a record for position players at Alabama.

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Punter JK Scott also started 57 games for the Crimson Tide, but kicker Will Reichard has played in 46 games heading into the 2023 season and could break the record. 

Awards

There are too many to fully list, so this only includes players named a first-team All-American by one of the services the NCAA uses to determined consensus and unanimous status, and major honors:

The Remington Award (nation’s best center)

Barrett Jones 2012
Ryan Kelly 2105
Landon Dickerson 2020

SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy

• 2015: Ryan Kelly (shared with Sebastian Tretola, Arkansas)
• 2020: Landon Dickerson (shared with teammate Alex Leatherwood)

T.G. Paschal/BamaCentral

First-Team All-Americans

2008 Antoine Caldwell
2012 Barrett Jones
2015 Ryan Kelly (consensus)
2018 Ross Pierschbacher
2020 Landon Dickerson (unanimous)

NFL Draft

It worked out that Alabama’s had five selections at center during the Saban era.

1. Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis Colts, 2016, No. 18 overall
2. Landon Dickerson, Philadelphia Eagles, 2011, second round
3. Antoine Caldwell, Houston Texans, 2009, third round
4. Ross Pierschbacher, Washington Redskins, 2019, fifth round
5. Bradley Bozeman, Baltimore Ravens, 2018, sixth round

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Overall

The best centers we've seen at Alabama during the Saban era:

1. Ryan Kelly
2. Landon Dickerson
3. Antoine Caldwell
4. Bradley Bozeman
5. William Vlachos

T.G. Paschal/Bama Central

SEE ALSO: The Best Alabama Cornerbacks During the Nick Saban Era