Alabama is the new O-line U

ByJEREMY CRABTREE
January 21, 2014, 11:07 PM

— -- Penn State is known as Linebacker U. USC and Notre Dame fans argue about which school really is Quarterback U. And Wisconsin and USC have great OL traditions, but under Nick Saban, Alabama is now truly Offensive Line U. The Crimson Tide have produced six All-Americans and seven drafted offensive linemen, including four first-round selections, over the past seven years. That total should increase after this May's draft as tackle Cyrus Kouandjio is expected to be selected in the first round.

Impressive indeed, but what's scary is Alabama's future looks brighter than ever, thanks to the six offensive line recruits heading to Tuscaloosa as part of the Class of 2014. With a little more than three weeks to signing day, the Crimson Tide have commitments from three linemen ranked No. 1 at their positions and two more ranked in the top three at their positions.

It's a remarkable group that Alabama fans are calling the best offensive line class assembled -- ever. But Tide fans aren't the only ones recognizing this group as elite. Recruiting analysts across the country have gushed about the group and even rival coaches recognize this is a special group.

"A case of the rich getting richer," one SEC coach said. "We recruited a lot of those guys, so we know how good they are. In the past, Alabama would always recruit one or two elite linemen and the others would be pretty good. This class, they're all the cream of the crop. It's complete. I don't know if you can say it's the best ever until they get on the field and play, but on paper this is the best line class I have ever seen."