Kalen DeBoer Deliberates Right Tackle Position Battle

With every other starting position on the offensive line all but set in stone, the right tackle job has been a long offseason campaign between Elijah Pritchett and Wilkin Formby.

Mar 21, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer watches his offensive line go through drills during practice at the University Alabama Thursday. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

After allowing the fifth-most sacks in FBS and most in the SEC last season, Alabama's offensive line has been revamped while showing improvements throughout the offseason and has been given high expectations by the college football community to give quarterback Jalen Milroe more time and space to work with.

Crimson Tide left tackle Kadyn Proctor, left guard Tyler Booker, center Parker Brailsford and right guard Jaeden Roberts (currently injured but will be able to play soon) have all but officially been named Week 1 starters. However, the starting right tackle job has been a battle between Elijah Pritchett and Wilkin Formby throughout fall camp.

After Saturday's scrimmage, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer discussed the right tackle battle, stating that the job is far from being won by either candidate.

"It's just going to be a position, I think, until we really get to some game time reps, I don't know if we will have it completely ironed out, just based on how it's gone so far," DeBoer said during the post-scrimmage press conference. "Both guys have their strengths and things they do really well. Those come out."

"Now I don't feel like either of them are a liability. I think it's just a matter of figuring out which one is going to be our guy. They both have done a lot to earn a lot of reps. Maybe we'll take that back a week from now if something else continues to evolve or if one guy steps up, but that seems to be the direction we're headed right now."

At the beginning of last season, Pritchett, then a redshirt freshman, was the backup left tackle for the aforementioned Proctor. Formby, who was a freshman last season, wasn't listed as a backup on either end of the offensive line.

As the position battle continues with two weeks until Week 1 against Western Kentucky, the timer is winding for DeBoer and his staff to make a decision. That said, this is an extremely tough task for the coaches, as they're looking for someone to replace the first Alabama product taken off of the 2024 NFL Draft board.

JC Latham, who was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the seventh overall pick, was a two-year starter for Alabama at right tackle with 27 career starts and 41 total appearances under his belt. The offensive lineman was a part of two SEC championship-winning teams, one as a starter and one as a reserve. In his most recent season, he allowed just two sacks on 408 pass sets, was named All-SEC First Team, and was selected a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press, FWAA, The Sporting News, Walter Camp, CBS Sports, Pro Football Focus, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.

The pressure is on to decide between Pritchett or Formby as Latham's successor, but DeBoer and offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic are comfortable letting the battle continue throughout the season.