HOOVER, Ala. -- Three All-Americans: gone. The Rimington Trophy winner: gone. A combined 160 career starts: gone.
The Crimson Tide's offensive line is going through a major transition period with Barrett Jones, D.J. Fluker and Chance Warmack all in NFL minicamps, but despite those losses, the two-time defending national champions were the runaway favorites to win the conference in the eyes of those at the SEC Media Days.
Credit the machine that Nick Saban has built, where even after losing arguably one of the great offensive lines in recent memory, we're expecting barely a drop off in Tuscaloosa.
"We have questions about the development of the offensive line, but that seems to go very well," Saban said.
As right guard Anthony Steen said, the continued dominance for the Tide up front is as much about staying on Saban's good side as it is talent.
"I think it's more of not trying to disappoint coach Saban and it makes us go that much harder every day to make him happy," the 6-foot-3, 309-pound senior said. "I know for me, I don't want to make him mad. There's no telling what he can do ... make me run until I pass out."
Along with Steen, who has 25 career starts and last season was the only Tide lineman to not surrender a sack, junior left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio also returns. They are both on the Outland Trophy watch list.
There has been no definitive depth chart, but all indications are that Kouandjio's brother Arie, a junior, will start at left guard, and either junior Austin Shepard, junior college transfer Leon Brown or sophomore Brandon Greene will be at right tackle.
But can this group really come close to duplicating last season? Steen says it all boils down to chemistry.
"(It) was strong last year and the next starting line, we haven't played a whole lot together and the chemistry right now isn't as strong as last year, but that's what camp is for," he said.
The unquestioned leaders of the group, Kouandjio and Steen, go about things in different ways. Where Kouandjio is apt to talk in front of the group, Steen is more comfortable in taking a younger player aside to tell him what he's doing wrong. It's a contrast in styles Steen believes gives the Tide a strong foundation in the locker room among the linemen.
"I told Cyrus the other day, I was like 'Dude, whatever you want to say, I've got your back. I'll be there,'" Steen said. "He told me the same thing."
No player on that front may be under more pressure than center Ryan Kelly, who's replacing Jones, a three-time All-American at three different positions along the line. Kelly's already on the Rimington Trophy watch list despite not starting once.
Steen, who was a member of the all-SEC freshman team last season when he played sparingly, has seen a nearly seamless transition at the position from Jones to Kelly. That's largely because Kelly earned valuable practice time with the first team during the BCS title game preparations while Jones was limited with a foot injury.
"I'm not surprised," Steen said of Kelly's impact. "Barrett was hurt for a while there last year and I played with Kelly. We got used to each other, and I knew that last year he was able to step in and do just fine."
With a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback in AJ McCarron and weapons like running backs T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake and receivers Amari Cooper and Kevin Norwood, this Alabama offense has the potential to be one of the most explosive of the Saban era.
But it all starts up front and the Kouandjio/Steen-led unit isn't lacking for confidence as it looks to pick up where one of the most storied groups in the program's history left off.
"I don't care if we let you know what we're running," Steen said. "Go ahead and try and stop us."
