Where Alabama's Offensive Line Stands Ahead of Monday's National Championship Game
INDIANAPOLIS — Nick Saban isn’t giving away too much about the health of his offensive line. However, the Alabama head coach has provided a few signs of encouragement heading into Monday’s national championship game against Georgia.
The Crimson Tide saw two of its starting offensive linemen suffer injuries during last week’s Cotton Bowl win over Cincinnati as right guard Emil Ekiyor Jr. left the game in the first quarter with a dislocated shoulder before right tackle Chris Owens exited in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury.
During his weekly radio show on Saturday night, Saban didn’t mention either player by name but did state that the team’s injured offensive linemen have been able to practice and that they “hopefully will be able to play.”
When asked directly about Ekiyor’s status during Sunday’s final press conference, Saban dodged the question, choosing to address the importance of his line’s play as a whole instead.
"If you want to have any success in this game offensively, you have to be able to at least control those guys up front and their front seven to some degree. They have a very good defense in total, but it starts with that. They create a lot of negative plays. They’ve got some really good pass rushers. They can be disruptive to the quarterback. So I think it probably starts up front in a game like this, and it’s going to be critical for us to be able to play well up front on the offensive to have any chance of being successful on offense.”
Ekiyor, 6-foot-3, 324 pounds, has started all of Alabama’s 14 games at right guard this season. The redshirt junior has not allowed a sack in 557 pass-blocking snaps and has a 71.9 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. He’s also been effective in the running game, earning a 66.8 run-blocking grade from the service.
Owens, 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, has started 10 games at right tackle and two games at center. The sixth-year senior has struggled in pass protection this season, leading the team with 36 allowed quarterback hurries and over 522 pass-blocking snaps. He’s also the lowest-graded run-blocker of Alabama’s starting offensive line, earning a 57.0 mark from PFF.
If Ekiyor is unable to play, he will likely be replaced by five-star freshman J.C. Latham, who filled in for him during the Cotton Bowl. Owens was replaced by redshirt sophomore Amari Kight during the Cotton Bowl, while sophomore Damieon George Jr. has also seen time at right tackle this season.
No. 1 Alabama (12-1) will play No. 3 Georgia (12-1) on Monday at 7 p.m. CT inside Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.
