Senior Bowl: Alabama's Left Tackle James Carpenter To Fight an Old Foe For Time

Alabama is only sending three players to the Senior Bowl in Mobile for this weekend's very important game: quarterback Greg McElroy, tight end Preston Dial and left offensive tackle James Carpenter.

The first two have already been written up in previous articles that said the Senior Bowl is going to be so important to them, but the same could be said for James Carpenter, although every recruiting service has him being drafted, albeit in the late rounds of six or seven.

He needs to dazzle the scouts that will be all over the practice fields as well as the game day performances, but in order to get that time on the field, he will first have to battle an old foe to get it.

While Alabama will have some sure first round picks from this year's team, they will not be seniors, but the juniors who are leaving early. These seniors really need a big game to help erase the doubts that many NFL scouts still have about this trio.

Derek Sherrod of Mississippi State will certainly get the start at left tackle and Clint Boling will get the start at right tackle and the second right tackle slot is going to be filled by Marcus Gilbert of Florida. So the best Carpenter can hope for is trying to get the second spot at left tackle.

The trouble is, a lot of recruiting services for the NFL say that Carpenter and Lee Ziemba are closely matched. So to get some quality playing time, he must beat out an old foe, Auburn's Ziemba.

At 6'5" and around 290 pounds, Carpenter is quick on his feet and has the size and strength to handle a fast rushing defender.

Ziemba is 6'6" and about 318 pounds, and though he may be a step slower, he has a good run blocking record and is no slouch at pass protection. So it could be a good battle for the number two spot.

With both Carpenter and Ziemba fighting the low round draft pick problems, each needs a good game. So when you watch these two at the Senior Bowl, you are going to see young men giving it their all because they don't know how much playing time they'll get and how many opportunities they will have to dazzle the scouts.

It is just another game within the game at the Senior Bowl. That game can be seen on the NFL Channel this coming Saturday.