ALABAMA'S FRONT SEVEN FACES NEW-LOOK KENTUCKY OFFENSIVE LINE

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --Alabama will head to Lexington this weekend to open up SEC play against Kentucky. Similar to the Crimson Tide, the Wildcats rebuilt their offensive line in the offseason, adding four new starters via the transfer portal. 'I think they did a really nice job navigating the transfer portal and the offensive linemen that they brought in,' Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. At left tackle, the Wildcats added Lance Heard, who was a starter at Tennessee for the last two seasons and allowed five sacks and 42 QB pressures in his time with the Vols. In Heard's debut with the Wildcats, he didn't allow any sacks or pressures and finished with a pass-blocking grade of 86.5% according to PFF. 'I thought the tackle, Heard from Tennessee; I thought he's been fantastic in the league the last couple of years,' Wommack said. 'So that was a massive gift for them. To be able to bring him on board.' Then at left guard, they added a familiar foe in Olaus Alinen, who spent the last three seasons with the Crimson Tide. Alinen appeared in 32 games with the Crimson Tide but did not make any starts, playing 223 snaps, allowing no sacks and just 1 QB pressure. Baylor transfer Coleton Price, who made 31 consecutive starts for the Bears, will be the Wildcats' starting center. In his four years at Baylor, he allowed four sacks and 30 QB pressures. Ohio State transfer Tegra Tshabola will be manning the right guard position. Tshabola spent the last four seasons at Columbus, was a starter for the last two seasons (30 games), and was a key part of the Buckeyes' national championship run back in 2024. In his four years with the Buckeyes, he allowed just one sack and 26 QB pressures. Malachi Wood is the one player who was on the Wildcats last season, but this will be his first season as a starter, and he will be anchoring the right tackle position. 'I thought they were on the same page,' Wommack said of the Wildcats offensive line. 'I thought those guys played hard up front, seemed to play as a unit, and did a nice job of protecting a quarterback in his first start as well. I think, to me, this is a good group that we're facing.' First-year Wildcats head coach Will Stein, who spent the last three seasons as Oregon's offensive coordinator, wasted no time revamping their offensive line. Stein also brought along Cutter Leftwich with him from Eugene to be the Wildcats' offensive line coach. In Leftwich's two seasons with the Ducks, he did a great job of revitalizing the run game as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Crimson Tide fans can see how their front seven competes with a new and improved Wildcats offensive line on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC. Alabama's 48-10 Victory Over East Carolina in the 2026 Season Opener