Alex Leatherwood: "I Want to Leave on a Way-Better Note Than Last Year"
There is no question about it, the University of Alabama's most experienced position group is at offensive line this upcoming season, given that three of the likely five starters are seniors.
Deonte Brown, Landon Dickerson, and Alex Leatherwood are the unit's veterans, sophomore Evan Neal and redshirt sophomore Emil Ekiyor Jr. round out what will likely be the first-team starters when the Crimson Tide hits the gridiron for the first game against Missouri on Sept. 26.
Leatherwood, who will play left tackle, opted to forgo the 2020 NFL draft and return to the Capstone for his senior campaign, gave insight into his decision to the media during a Zoom meeting on Wednesday.
"What went into my decision was basically I feel I left a lot on the table as a player," Leatherwood said. "And I felt like I just had a lot more to offer. I just wanted to come back and capitalize on that. And also the way the season went last year, it wasn’t how us, or anybody expected it to go, and I wanted to come back and leave on a way-better note than what we did."
If all bodes well in 2020, Leatherwood could become the 12th offensive lineman that has been a first-round draft pick since coach Nick Saban has arrived in Tuscaloosa.
Given how the Pensacola, Fla. native has led the charge for the Black Lives Matter movement among the Alabama program, he is unequivocally a leader that all the other guys can look to.
"Yeah, of course, I think so," Leatherwood said when asked if having so many veterans on the offensive line make it easier to transition into the season. "With experience it’s always easier. But not only that but we didn’t have too many young guys coming in this summer, so we already had a lot of experience in the room as a whole. I feel like that was a great thing. It’s going well. This fall camp? It’s going great."
One of the younger guys that Leatherwood made to sure to make a note of out was Neal, who has been practicing at tackle along with the guard spot.
"He himself, he’s a very driven player, so I feel like any obstacle over him he’s going to overcome it," Leatherwood said. "When he was playing guard I did give him a lot of tips on how to transition and stuff like, and I feel like that helped make his transition a lot smoother. Him going back to tackle, that’s been great too. He was already a natural tackle, so there really wasn’t that much to it. As far as him and his fall camp, he’s doing great. Way better than I would have expected."
As fall camp rolls along and the team prepares for its first scrimmage this weekend in the COVID-19 era, the 6-foot-6, 312 pound linemen echoed what we have heard from so many players since practice has started: They feel safe.
"Yes," Leatherwood said. "Speaking for us, and what we have going on here, we feel more than safe because of the precautions and things we have put in place, and the things that we’re doing just to make sure we’re all healthy.
"Yeah, we feel good."
