Alabama Coaching Staff Sees Competition at Right Tackle

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama football got back to the basics on Saturday and dominated the ULM Warhakws 73-0 to get the 2025 season off the ground. The Crimson Tide stacked up 212 yards on the ground, gave up just two tackles for a loss and no sacks in an almost perfect offensive performance.

The Crimson Tide utilized more offensive lineman in Week 2 as the coaching staff is still searching for its best combination of five. True freshman Michael Carroll was one of the offensive lineman that got an opportunity to show his abilities as the 5-star prospect rotated in and out with Wilkin Formby at right tackle.

"100 percent, I see it as a competition," offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. "All these guys are competing for spots. I thought Michael did a great job. I think there's some things he certainly needs to clean up, but the thing I like about Michael is he does compete. What you saw on the field in the game is how Mike practices too, so he's super competitive, physical kid who I thought did a really nice job for his first time."

Carroll was one of the most prolific players in Alabama's Class of 2025, moving from Central Bucks East in Pennsylvania to IMG ahead of his senior year. He was the Crimson Tide's second-highest rated recruit, behind Keelon Russell and was considered the top interior offensive lineman in the entire class by 247Sports.

The 6-foot-6, 321-pound lineman enrolled early and showed his versatility along the offensive front, being able to help out at guard and tackle. Formby's no stranger to competition as he and Elijah Pritchett went head to head last season for right tackle duties.

"I love the way he [Michael Carroll] plays," Kalen DeBoer said. "He plays hard. He plays really hard. He, along with, we talked about Lotzeir, we played a lot of freshmen. We played a lot of young guys in a lot of different areas, special teams and offense and defense. He was one of those guys that's taking those steps. Did a nice job and got his first real action at the college level. Just like we talked about with the quarterback, the competition just helps everyone. It helps Michael and his motivation to continue to get better every single day. It helps Wilkin [Formby]. At guard, we had guys rotating in as well, between Jaeden [Roberts] and Geno [VanDeMark]. Just across the board, it sends a message that we're going to keep trying to find the guys who really give us the best chance to win."