All Alabama football quarterback Jalen Milroe needed was time.
He needed time to recognize Wisconsin’s defensive coverage and find freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams in stride on a go route along the sideline for a 31-yard first-quarter touchdown where he was two steps ahead of the nearest defender. Milroe needed time to set up a slow-developing post-corner route by Germie Bernard, who created enough separation to secure a 26-yard touchdown right before halftime.
Despite being the third different starting group in three games, the Alabama offensive line gave Milroe all the time he needed in the Crimson Tide’s 42-10 road win against Wisconsin on Saturday in Madison, Wisc.
“We just kept on building,” Milroe said of his relationship with the offensive line. “Kept on connecting, kept on going.”
With the return of Kadyn Proctor at left tackle, starting in his first game of the 2024 season along with left guard Tyler Booker, center Parker Brailsford, right guard Jaeden Roberts and right tackle Elijah Pritchett, Alabama may have found the foundation for its offense as SEC play approaches, starting with Georgia Sept. 28.
The offensive line allowed two sacks, both of which came in the second half when the game was all but decided, and five tackles for loss. And after a South Florida win that was plagued with miscues up front, the Crimson Tide had two false start penalties and no holding calls against the Badgers.
The improvement sparked tangible offensive production in 7.3 yards per play for an offense that scored six touchdowns and generated 407 total yards.
“I think they just did a consistent job of making sure Jalen could stay upright, wasn’t rushed, hurried,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “It’s amazing how your play calls can just be so much easier. You’re in downs and distances that are much more favorable when you can protect your quarterback and make every throw count (and) there’s not throwaways where you’re getting hit. I thought there was just good gelling considering it was their first game action all together.”
DeBoer saw the same level of production in run-blocking situations, saying there were “really not many missed assignments” and that there was plenty of room for Milroe and Jam Miller to work.
“Whatever play was called,” DeBoer said. “I felt they were in sync and giving us a chance.”
Is Alabama football offensive line ready for Georgia?
Saturday’s offensive line was, admittedly, the line DeBoer had in mind for Week 1.
But with Proctor’s pregame injury before the Western Kentucky game, Alabama was forced to improvise, moving Pritchett to left tackle and inserting Wilkin Formby on the right in Week 1 before injuries moved Booker to the outside and Geno VanDerMark into the starting lineup.
DeBoer said Formby will continue to “be in the mix” at right tackle, and that VanDerMark will play a factor moving forward, but that he was “confident” in the group that started Saturday.
That group, Milroe said, did an excellent job at communication, something that had been a key point of attention leading into the Wisconsin game.
“I think we did a really good job on offense of being sound,” Milroe said. “Everything we did, the pass (protection), pushing the ball down the field, we just executed.”
Alabama will need that level of execution in its SEC opener.
Through two games against Clemson and Tennessee Tech, Georgia allowed 3.2 yards per play to opposing offenses and an average of 11 first downs per game. Five different players share the Bulldogs’ five sacks, while 12 have at least a share of a tackle-for-loss.
But after Wisconsin, DeBoer was impressed with the balance Alabama was able to generate offensively, something he expects to continue moving forward.
And with that balance, he gave credit where credit was due.
“That starts up front,” DeBoer said.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.Â
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Is Alabama football offensive line ready for Georgia after Wisconsin win?
