Alabama’s Coaching Staff Explains Why They Aren’t Playing Their Preseason All-SEC Guard

Alabama's offensive line has seen its rotation shift in almost every game this season, with the Crimson Tide playing multiple tackles and guards in the 24-21 victory over Georgia two weeks ago.

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Against Vanderbilt, Alabama's rotation shifted again, playing Jackson Lloyd and Kadyn Proctor at left tackle, Kam Dewberry and William Sanders at left guard, Geno VanDemark and Wilkin Formby at right guard, and Wilkin Formby and Michael Carroll at right tackle. One notable name missing from the rotation against the Commodores? Preseason All-SEC guard Jaeden Roberts.

Roberts suffered a concussion during the Crimson Tide's first scrimmage of fall camp, and it kept him out until midway through prep for Alabama's opening game of the season against Florida State. His absence from some of the earlier games in the season could be justified due to his recovery from injury and the amount of practice time missed.

Now, it's week five, and the offensive lineman who broke Alabama's school lifting record (he reportedly was squatting 900 pounds during summer weightlifting), and the redshirt senior from Houston, Texas, has strangely seemed to have his playing time decreased, despite being fully recovered from his preseason injury. Roberts, who was voted Preseason Second-Team All-SEC, had the position all but locked up in fall camp. Why the change?

"Jaeden's still working his way back on the field," offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. "Last week, I thought was a big step for him. He's progressing nicely in practice and things like that. So, really expect him to be able to make a contribution this week."

"I mean, it's competitive right now at those positions. More than just his. Guys are competing in practice," head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "That's, to me, a big part of what you got to do. The comeback for him has been progressing; that's probably why you feel the vibe you feel from Coach Grubb and the words he said.

"You've got to just keep doing it. That's what we ask of every guy. Some of these guys have gotten chances to get on the football field and taken advantage of it, and that's made it harder for others who maybe have had roles that were assumed. But it's competitive. Jaeden, love Jaeden. What a great, great kid. Got a lot of potential, and he's gonna keep working."

Whatever the reason for Roberts' mysterious lack of playing time, Alabama will likely continue to rotate along the offensive line, per Ryan Grubb's comments earlier in the season.

"We’ll keep rotating," Grubb said ahead of Alabama's game against Georgia. "There’s a lot of guys, both, not just for experience and depth, but also keeping guys fresh and keeping them in position where they can play hard for 80 snaps a game."

One player who has worked his way into the rotation at left guard, alongside Kam Dewberry, is redshirt freshman William Sanders, who DeBoer said has been putting in work and has earned the opportunity to play.

"They are continuing to get better. And that leads to (William) Sanders and what he's been doing and why he's getting his opportunity," DeBoer said. "He didn't go like, woe is me when he wasn't getting those reps early in the season. He just continued to grind and continued to show up, just like our team and what I'm asking with them, he's done that, taking it personally.

"And the guys that, they're going to keep getting better. You know, you're in this program for a reason. We're counting on you, we're counting on you to get better, we’re counting on you to help make our team what it can be. And he's done that, and so that's why he's gained a few reps in games that you've seen here over the last couple of weeks. "

Alabama will travel to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Missouri Tigers at 11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday, October 11.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.