Alabama's Superior O-Line Recruiting Will Pave Way for Future Success

One of the most critical factors in Alabama’s tight grip on the recruiting trail is the Tide’s penchant for landing elite prospects in the trenches.

It’s no secret that the key to success in the SEC is dominance up front, and no program in the country has recruited the offensive and defensive lines better than Nick Saban and the Alabama staff. 

In particular, Alabama has racked up talent along the offensive line during its stretch of five consecutive top-rated classes.

The 2016 class appears to be more of the same for Saban and his staff, who landed a commitment from in-state 4-star offensive lineman Deonte Brown on Wednesday. 

The 6’3”, 350-pounder is the third 4-star offensive lineman to join the Tide’s 2016 class, which continues an impressive trend.

Since 2011, 17 of the 24 offensive linemen signed by Alabama have earned a 4-star rating or higher—including seven such prospects who were rated among the nation’s Top 100 overall recruits.

How have the Tide been able to consistently reload up front every year?

There are a handful of reasons, but it's primarily been Saban’s emphasis on the need to be physical up front.

Another person who deserves credit for the Tide’s wealth of talent along the offensive line is current offensive line coach Mario Cristobal.

Cristobal, who himself was a former standout offensive lineman at the University of Miami from 1989 to 1992, joined the Tide staff in 2013.

According to his recruiter profile on 247Sports, Cristobal was either the primary or secondary recruiter for all 16 of the Tide’s offensive line signees in the 2014 and 2015 classes. 

Player	Rank	Class
Grant Hill	4-Star	2013
Leon Brown (JUCO)	4-Star	2013
Cameron Robinson	5-Star	2014
Ross Pierschbacher	4-Star	2014
Dominick Jackson (JUCO)	4-Star	2014
Lester Cotton	4-Star	2015
Richie Petitbon	4-Star	2015
Jonah Williams (commit)	4-Star	2016
Chris Owens (commit)	4-Star	2016
Deonte Brown (commit)	4-Star	2016

Cristobal was crowned as the nation’s top recruiter by 247Sports for his efforts in the 2015 cycle. He’s also had a hand in the recruitment of all three 2016 offensive line pledges.

The Tide’s ability to restock their roster with top-notch prospects up front is a critical factor in why the offense has increased its production in recent years despite having three offensive coordinators in the last four seasons.

Since 2011, according to CFBstats.com, Alabama’s offense has improved its average total yards per game in each of the last four seasons, culminating with a team that averaged nearly 485 yards per game in 2014.

Despite losing 10 starters from last year’s offense, including a trio of offensive linemen, Alabama’s upward offensive trend has a chance to continue in 2015, thanks to the Tide’s recruiting hauls up front and at the skill positions.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a national recruiting analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @SanjayKirpalani