Kadyn Proctor: South Carolina's Edge Rushers Are 'Some of the Best We've Seen'

Despite South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart not even showing up in the stat sheet on Saturday, the prized Alabama left tackle couldn't help but admit how good his main assignment, who is a five-star freshman, is going to be in the future.

Oct 12, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Justice Haynes (22) lunges across the goal line as Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor (74) blocks on South Carolina Gamecocks defensive tackle Nick Barrett (93) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images / Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 7 Alabama football defeated South Carolina 27-25 on Saturday at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and as the score suggests, this was by no means an easy victory for the Crimson Tide.

There were a good chunk of reasons on both sides of the ball as to why the scoreboard was an eyebrow-raiser, including the sacks and tackles for loss department. Both teams logged four sacks apiece and the Gamecocks had nine tackles for loss compared to Alabama's seven.

Coming into this game the Garnett and Black were tied for 14th in the nation in sacks due to the defense's ability to disguise pressure using multiple looks. Despite South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart not even showing up in the stat sheet on Saturday, five-star sophomore left tackle Kadyn Proctor couldn't help but commend his main assignment from the game, who is a five-star freshman.

"They were great," Proctor said after the game. "They were some of the best we've seen this season. [Stewart] is going to be a really good player. He's got really good length, really good bend, [fellow South Carolina edge rusher Kyle Kennard] is really strong and physical, lengthy too. Those guys are physical and they get off the ball."

Proctor mostly shadowed Stewart, but had a couple of run-ins with Kennard. Kennard was on the opposite side for most of the game though and finished with six tackles, including three for loss, two sacks and also forced Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe to throw the ball away in his own endzone, which was flagged for an intentional grounding and resulted in a safety. This just goes to show that regardless of stats, the efforts and impact of an edge rusher is very apparent for an offensive tackle.

Nevertheless, the message for the Crimson Tide offensive line—which was one of 22 units named to the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll on Thursday—remained the same throughout Saturday's survival.

"Get to your spots, be on alert for the twists because the defensive tackles are going to slant out to the [offensive] tackles," Proctor said. "[Right tackle Elijah] Pritchett have to be on alert for that. Guards get to their spots, some depth for the twists. I had to set back vertical for the twists."

That said, Proctor mentioned a certain play style that Alabama hadn't really utilized the past couple of weeks, that the Crimson Tide could use against the Gamecocks, despite their defense being top-30 in the country against this category.

"We definitely wanted to run the ball with the scheme that we've seen," Proctor said. "Them running on tape,—getting in there, getting physical—they were gonna twist. I had to be on alert for the defensive tackle who twisted me."

In the end, Proctor is content with the victory, as that is the ultimate goal. He also praised the offensive line as the mission of the unit is to "trust and believe in those guys to do our job."

Like the rest of the team, Proctor will be taking the 24-hour rule to relax and put this game behind him. The focus will then shift to The Third Saturday in October, when Alabama travels to currently No. 8-ranked Tennessee next Saturday.

"Just take it day-by-day," Proctor said. "Tennessee is obviously a really great team. We haven't watched too much film on them yet, but we're gonna go through a long week of preparation just like we did for this one. We're gonna get ready for those guys, honing in and focusing on what we need to do and just do our job."