Ryan Grubb Wants Offensive Line to have 'Elite Communication' Against Oklahoma

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama football's offensive line has a familiar defensive front on deck this Friday night in the first round of the College Football Playoff at No. 8 Oklahoma (7 p.m. CT, ESPN/ABC). The No. 9 Crimson Tide lost to the Sooners on Nov. 15 despite outgaining them by 194 yards.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb knows what it takes for an offensive line to be successful in the postseason. Washington's group won the Joe Moore Award in 2023 and helped the Huskies advance to the national title game that season, which would prove to be the last for Kalen DeBoer before he took the Alabama job.

The Crimson Tide (10-3) gave up four sacks opposite Oklahoma in the regular season. Ty Simpson also lost a fumble in the second half that led to the game-winning score for the Sooners (10-2). There were good things Alabama did in that game, but its costly mistakes were too taxing against a good football team. Grubb wants the O-line unit on the same page at a higher level than ever before, which lessens possibilities for negative plays.

"Elite communication. The best communication they've had all year," Grubb said Tuesday. "That's what it's gonna come down to, cause in the first game, they did a good job of that. We had two negative yardage runs, which were actually gains of zero. We talked about that before. The sacks came on lack of communication."

The line has featured different combinations on the offensive side of the ball. With left guard Kam Dewberry available and center Parker Brailsford continuing to get healthier (he said he was healthy after the SEC Championship Game), junior All-American left tackle Kadyn Proctor believes the group can reach Grubb's objective.

"I definitely think that can happen," Proctor said. "That's something that we've been honing in on. That's really all offensive line is, is communication, five as one, and we've really been focusing on that, so we've been doing a really great job up to this point."

True freshman Michael Carroll has become the go-to player at the other tackle spot, and Wilkin Formby has recently made the switch inside to play at guard. The team has had some time to get used to that combination, while those two players get more reps under their belt: Carroll overall, and Formby at a new position. Brailsford and Dewberry being 100 percent makes those adjustments easier, contributing to more productive communication during games.

"He's [Carroll] talking a lot more. And really getting comfortable in his position. Talking to Wilkin, talking to Parker... Warrior Parker, I agree with that," Proctor said. "He's been trying to be on the field and be that leader that he always is... You gotta have a guy like [Dewberry], a voice that's been doing this for a long time, to come back and have his viewpoints."

"Ultimately, for us, it's just gonna come down to those guys communicating," Grubb said. "If half the line's on one call, the other half's not, that's where your problems happen. That's where sacks and problems in the A- [and] B-gap happen."

Miscues can spell the end of the Crimson Tide's season if they cause the program's third loss to Oklahoma in a little more than a year. The Sooners answered the bell with its College Football Playoff chances on the line in November. If Brent Venables and his squad win again, Alabama's offensive line won't have another chance to fine-tune its communication skills.

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