Alabama Football: Center William Vlachos Is the Little Engine That Could

Nick Saban loves the hunting dog analogy that goes along with recruiting.

He often says sometimes you get a hunting dog as a puppy and pick him because he's supposed to be good. He's got the big feet and all, but you find out later the dog won't hunt like you would have hoped he would.

In other words, just because you think they'll grow up to be bigger and tougher based on the size of the feet and other attributes, you could be surprised.

But what about the runt of the pack that at first glance doesn't hold much promise at all? Sometimes he doesn't get the chance to even run with the big dogs.

Well that might have described William Vlachos. He played for a good team in high school, Mountain Brook, and was a guard, not a center. He wasn't even offered by instate rival Auburn, but he did get offers from Florida State, West Virginia and Georgia Tech.

That's not a lot of offers for a 3-star lineman.

But Mike Shula was still the head coach and was desperate to fill the holes in the offensive line and hoped that, even though he was small for a guard, Vlachos was as good as he thought he could get at the time. So early on in his last year in high school, Vlachos committed to Alabama and Mike Shula.

Soon after, Shula was gone and in came Saban. Of course, Saban honored all the commitments that were already given.

It was good for Vlachos that he was an early commit because Saban may not have offered a 3-star lineman who was only 6'2" and 287 pounds.

But it was a good thing for Saban as well. What he soon learned about Vlachos was that he may have been smaller than he liked, but he was a weight room fiend and a pit bull in a bulldog's body.

So Saban learned another hunting dog story was true.

It's not always the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of fight in the dog.

Vlachos went on to be a three-year starter and an anchor Saban and the Crimson Tide could rely on. He went on to not only be a solid starter but a role model for younger players to emulate in his workout and practice ethics as well.

With a group of young centers waiting to take over after this, his last year in Tuscaloosa, Vlachos is a fine role model to have on the team.

Besides all these other accolades, he's also heady— he has always called the line blocking assignments that helped the Tide earn a record of one of the best running teams in the nations.

"He's not the biggest and tallest center, but I wouldn't trade him for anyone," Greg McElroy told me of Vlachos. "He keeps me safe and I can see over his head, so that's a big plus," Greg said, grinning.

He also told me, with a big grin, that on a long plane flight, don't sit with Vlachos because he'll eat all your snacks if you take your eyes off him.

When I asked William about that at the Capital One Bowl Game, he said "No comment on that one!" with an even bigger grin.

The two of them had a close bond, and whoever winds up being the new starting quarterback will benefit from Vlachos' experience and habit of protecting not only his quarterback, but his friend.

But mostly the whole Alabama team will benefit from having this young man set such a standard for the newer, bigger, taller centers that Saban has lined up for the future.

They may be bigger, but they will have to work hard to be better. Vlachos is the little engine that could.

The others will have to prove they can.