Alabama lost one of its best offensive lineman Saturday, now comes the process of replacing him.
Left tackle Cam Robinson, the true freshman 5-star recruit from Louisiana, went down with a high ankle sprain against Tennessee and didn’t return to the game. Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Robinson would miss “at least two weeks” and said the coaches will “have to see how he responds after that,” but was unsure when the lineman would be fully healthy.
When Robinson went down in the Tennessee game, the offensive line shifted around players to fill the void. Leon Brown was placed in Robinson’s position at left tackle, with Bradley Bozeman filling Brown’s spot at right guard. Bozeman had been serving as Ryan Kelly’s replacement at Center after Kelly went down with an injury against Ole Miss. But with Kelly back at center, Bozeman could step in and ease the transition for the line.
Alabama’s bye week gives the team time to weigh its options at the vacant position with a week between now and the LSU game Nov. 8.
Saban kept his options open, and has Bozeman at the ready, but the coach specifically mentioned Hill and right tackle Austin Shepherd as the top candidates.
“We have a couple of options there,” Saban said. “Grant Hill and [Shepherd] both can play tackle and so whichever one plays right and whichever one plays left would be one option and leave Leon [Brown] where he is, or move Leon, and play somebody else at guard.
“But I really do think that Grant Hill, who played pretty well when he’s had to play this year so far, is a guy that we’ll give an opportunity to, at least in practice, and see how he does. If it works out, those two guys will be the tackles.”
Hill has played most of his games at right tackle but has played a bit of left tackle this season, and Shepherd has never played left tackle in college. But Shepherd believes that it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to switch sides.
“It’s football,” Shepherd said. “I’ve done it since I was six years old, so it’s not really any different. I think I’ve played every position ever since I’ve been little so I kind of know a little bit about everything. I mean, it’s pretty much the same thing just opposite so you’ve just got to switch it.”
Alabama’s linemen are versatile, and can play multiple positions. This is probably because they’ve been playing football for years, but it’s also due to Crimson Tide offensive line coach Mario Cristobal and his coaching philosophy.
“The way Coach Cristobal teaches it, he tries to teach you all five positions at once,” Shepherd said. “When I got here five years ago, you learned your position and that was it. But the way the young guys are learning it now, you pretty much start at center and work your way out and just kind of learn all five in one.”
Robinson has been a strong point for Alabama’s offensive line, playing right away, and will most likely miss his homecoming in Louisiana against LSU. Playing without him in Baton Rouge will pose some challenges, but Alabama seems to have the bodies to fill his place.
Shepherd said he’s been preparing his fellow linemen, especially those who aren’t the regular starters, for moments like this all season, and now they get to their chance.
“Earlier in the season, Ryan [Kelly] goes down, Bozeman has to step up,” Shepherd said. “I actually said a couple of weeks before that someone’s going to go down, someone’s going to have to step up. And sure enough it happened, and happened again this week. I try to, every couple of weeks, just remind them that they need to be in their playbook and just ready to go in because you never know when your time is up.”
