Just a few years ago, Alabama fielded one of the best college offensive lines we’ve seen in quite some time. Loaded with future NFL talent, the Crimson Tide rolled over everyone in the run game, serving as the backbone for a crushing rushing attack.

All of the players from that 2011-12 group are gone now. While the talent hasn’t stopped rolling in under offensive line coach Mario Cristobal’s watch, it’s starting to look a bit different as Alabama’s playing style has shifted.

For each season from 2011-13, Alabama was good for at least 5.5 yards per carry every time it ran the ball. That number dipped to 5.1 yards per carry last year, a subtle drop that felt bigger when watching the team. No longer did it feel like a sure thing that Alabama was going to pick up a third- or fourth-and-short run, and the team was just as much of a danger to throw in those third- and fourth-down situations as they were to run it.

Still, with all the turnover the team has experienced up front the last few years, pass protection hasn’t been an issue. Even as they aired it out more than ever in 2014, Alabama’s sacks allowed actually dipped to 1.14 per game, the lowest figure of the Saban era.

Now, in his third season at the helm of the line, Cristobal is tasked with rebuilding yet again. In his first season, Alabama had just lost D.J. Fluker, Chance Warmack and Barrett Jones. After 2014, the Tide lost three more starters in Arie Kouandjio, Austin Shepherd and Leon Brown.

Alabama still has two foundational pieces in place from last year in center Ryan Kelly and left tackle Cam Robinson. Filling in around those two, the line will be likely be manned by left guard Ross Pierschbacher, right guard Bradley Bozeman and right tackle Dominick Jackson, with Alphonse Taylor vying for playing time at guard and J.C. Hassenauer and Brandon Greene providing depth as well.

Along with those new faces, the M.O. of the line has begun to shift along with Alabama’s offensive philosophy.

Earlier this spring, Ryan Kelly told the Dothan (Ala.) Eagle that Alabama is running a “new offense.” As Nick Saban will be quick to point out, Alabama ran plenty of no-huddle offense last year in the group’s first year under Lane Kiffin’s direction, and it will continue down that path in 2015.

Gone are the days when Alabama ran an offense that was simply power runs and play-action passes. With Kiffin, the Tide have spread it out, aired it out and sped it up. That’s something this new line has to get accustomed to, which Kelly said the group has gotten comfortable with.

“Just get to the ball faster, get to the line faster. We’ll have different speeds on how we can play, and I think that’s really effective on the players that we have,”Kelly told the Dothan Eagle. “At first, it was kind of hard to get used to, but I think…it’s gotten a lot better.”

Kelly and Cristobal both acknowledge that what Alabama’s offensive line is being asked to do is a bit different than the road-grading style the Tide came to be known for while winning three national titles from 2009-12. Now, the Crimson Tide need a different kind of lineman, one that can get to the line quickly, make quick reads and stay on the same page with the rest of the unit.

Even with a sped-up approach, the Crimson Tide’s line won’t lack for an edge. Jackson, who was the top-rated junior college offensive tackle in 2014, is considered a nasty run blocker, and he was even used as a blocking back at times last season. Pierschbacher showed off considerable toughness this spring and could end up being one of the best players on the line, playing between studs Kelly and Robinson.

Jackson and Pierschbacher will help bring a balance of old and new to the Alabama offensive line. While they might not be bulldozers in the run game to the level of Fluker and Warmack just yet, both have potential to be excellent players.

All five of the projected starters are getting up to speed when it comes to playing with tempo, and while it may operate differently than in years past, Alabama’s offensive line seems primed to become a pillar for the team once again.