Evan Cardwell - #70 - OL - 6-2 - 278 lbs. - Killen, AL - Killen HS - 2 Varsity Letters

The big question for Evan this off-season revolves around what position he’ll play. He is capable of playing both guard and center, which gives him a great opportunity to earn playing time. He played in all but 2 games for the Tide in 2007, starting the last 7 games of the regular season.

The problem for Evan is that while he has SEC caliber talent, his best position is center, and Bama has Rimington Trophy candidate Antoine Caldwell standing in his way at that position. With that in mind Evan took most of his spring snaps at Right Guard. As things stand now, however, he is still behind Marlon Davis on the depth chart at that position.

2008 Prospectus:    This is a tough one to guess, because the offensive line is a very fluid thing for Bama at this point. With Antoine Caldwell capable of playing all 5 positions across the line, there is always the possibility of him starting the season somewhere other than center. While the coaches appear to be very high on William Vlachos, it is a strong possibility that Evan would be given the first opportunity to earn the starts at center if Caldwell is elsewhere on the line.

Another reason for the move to guard is that Marlon Davis has struggled to remain healthy, and the coaches want to have a veteran presence available if those injury problems crop up for him again. Bama has virtually no experienced depth on the offensive line, and having a guy who can backup all 3 of the interior line spots makes him extremely valuable to Associate Head Coach for Offense and Offensive Line Coach Joe Pendry.

It is almost certain that at some point during the 2008 season we will see Evan play, and likely start. Whether that comes at guard or center will be the question.