They are good linemen- but all but Brailsford are frankly too big and slow for this scheme. Saban finished off his time recruiting big bodies to re-establish a power offense, which is schematically the antithesis of DeBoer & Grubb’s scheme. Square peg, round hole, even if they are really good square pegs.
The flip side of that is that Brailsford is simply too small for the SEC and can't move SEC level IDLs off their spot. Unless he is pulling, or able to get cleanly to the second level, he's not effective
IMHO, Roberts is our best interior OL, and it's not really close. Yes, he's big, but he's not carrying much extra weight. He anchors well, puts guys on the ground, and can also get to the second level.
I'm sure that Proctor was recruited with the hope he'd lose weight in a good program, which is exactly what we did with LOTS of guys (Fluker, Oneal, Latham) - all big, but still way lighter than KP. If he'd get in the weight range of those guys, he's be so much better. That said, he is a mauler in the run game on the first level.
I'm not sure what the issue is with VDM. There are times he looks great, both in pass-pro and run blocking, but then every once and a while he just gets blown up. Not sure if perhaps he's not totally healthy, or if sometimes it's a misunderstanding in assignment where he thinks there should be help where there isn't.
Formby gets over his ski's and then doesn't trust/use his feet and watching the film guy, it's clear not enough 'live' reps being spent in the run game to be able to adapt to all the slants and stunts being run. He's going to where the 'perfect' setup should be instead of adjusting. When he does get hands on though, he's capable.
Dewberry is a mystery, a bit like VDM, but with higher amplitude. At times, he's rocking DTs world, yet others he's pushed around.
All that said, I am concerned that the notion behind the style of run game and run blocking they used before simply won't work in the SEC. Out west, they just don't have that many DL with the combination of size and speed that the SEC does. They can pull an OL into a hole and expect a somewhat slower DL to still be there, but I don't think that is the case in the SEC. Their are too many really quick DL who are going to get more penetration through the LOS before even a quicker OL will get there. I honestly think they've realized that and have adjusted to where they are not using that style as much as they did at UW.
Otherwise, why bring in Dewberry, who is actually bigger (at least with Roster weight) than either Roberts or VDM and was even heavier when signed or Anugwum, who is bigger than Formby and all the IOL except DewBerry? Also, why have both Carroll and Lloyd put on weight? As I said, Proctor is almost certainly bigger than ideal, but past him the next biggest is Dewberry at 332, and all the others are under 330 and that seems about right for SEC level OL. *** Assuming roster weights are somewhat accurate, which we know sometimes they are not - KP's probably listed as lower than it really was, and PB is possibly a little generous).
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