The Alabama offensive line has had the luxury of having Michigan state transfer and reserved lineman, Geno VanDeMark at their disposal all season.
VanDeMark has been a plug and play type of player along the Crimson Tide’s offensive line, filling in at multiple positions for Alabama early on this season. VanDeMark stepped up this past weekend in Alabama’s game versus Vanderbilt in place of starting right guard Jaeden Roberts at times as the Texas native battled injuries.
Alabama offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic met with the media on Wednesday and commented on the status of Roberts this week ahead of the Tide’s matchup with South Carolina, as well what VanDeMark brings to the table in his absence.
“He’s playing through some things that I don’t know most people would”, Kapilovic said. “We know we’ve got to give him a series here and there to let him get his body feeling a little better, take a breather and go. He’s good with it. We kind of work together, ‘how are you feeling? what do we need to do?’ Geno has filled in for him and done a good job. That’s been helpful as well. He’s done a good job since he’s been here, he’s practiced well, he’s played all three spots inside, which is valuable. He’s earned the right to be able to go on the field to where we feel like when he’s out there, we can function as an offense and do the things we need to do. Obviously, when we have a guy that’s banged up we need him to be ready to go, and he’s been able to answer the bell to this point.”
VanDeMark could play a vital role upfront for the Alabama again this Saturday against South Carolina, in the wake of the Robinson injury.
