For much of the recent history of South Alabama football, the biggest “if” on the offensive side of the ball has been the five men up front.

That’s no longer true. Thanks to a talent influx and going on three years of development under head coach Kane Wommack and offensive line coach Gordon Steele, the Jaguars’ offensive line is one of the deepest and most-experienced units on the team.

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“You’ve got a lot of guys back that have played a lot of snaps around here,” Steele said. “We’ve just been taking the mentality of being a run-first team — physicality, playing with our pads, knocking people off the ball. That style of play is who we want to be and what we preach every day.”

South Alabama returns four starters this season — left tackle Josh McCulloch, right tackle Adrein Strickland, guard Dontae Lucas and center Reggie Smith. Lucas is now at right guard after playing on the left side last year, while Smith has shifted to center after playing right guard in 2022.

The lone newcomer in the starting lineup is James Robinson, a former Tennessee transfer who spent last season on the scout team while trying to get into better shape. Having dropped around 45 pounds since arriving at South Alabama, the 6-foot-4, 325-pound Montgomery native is now ready to be a major contributor.

“The transition has gone well,” Robinson said. “Day-in and day-out, I’ve just been working on what I can do to get better for the team. A big part was losing weight, being able to finish, doing extra stuff to be better for the team.”

South Alabama’s offensive line was in a bad way when Wommack and his staff arrived in December 2020, having been a big reason the Jaguars struggled so mightily to score points during former coach Steve Campbell’s tenure. Less than three years later, the position group has been totally re-made, as just two of the 15 current scholarship linemen were on the team when Wommack took over.

Lucas (6-4, 317) came on board in the spring of 2022 after transferring from Florida State, and became an immediate starter. But the jewel of the group is Strickland, a 6-foot-6, 332-pound native of Mosley High School in Panama City, Fla.

Strickland was originally committed to Florida, but was dropped by the Gators in a numbers crunch late in the 2020-21 recruiting cycle. Wommack and the Jaguars snapped him up as part of their first signing class.

“I’m not going to sit here and say that it was easy,” Strickland said. “It was definitely stressful, only having a couple days to find where I wanted to go for my college career. But I spent a couple of days of making some calls, talking to some people. I had a good friend, (former South Alabama running back) John ‘Tank’ Miller who was here. That helped me out with that decision. I’m really happy with what I chose and what’s going on here.”

McCulloch and Smith are program veterans who are in their sixth years as Jaguars, McCulloch (6-3, 312) having been recruited by Campbell and his stff out of Aldine Benjamin Davis High School in Houston in 2018. The undersized Smith (6-1, 283) joined the program as a walk-on out of Pensacola (Fla.) Escambia High School that same year, and eventually earned a scholarship.

Smith has the biggest shoes to fill on the line this year, having replaced two-year starter James Jackson. An honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference pick a year, Jackson’s eligibility expired after the 2022 season.

“I think we’ve looked really good,” Smith said. “Everybody’s coming in with a good mindset, really focused, no negativity in the room. Everybody’s positive, just trying to make everybody the best. So it’s been really fun. It’s been a good experience and everything is going really smooth.”

South Alabama has also been able to develop a solid second unit of players signed by Wommack and his staff the last three years. No. 2 left guard Reid Gavin was a member of the 2021 recruiting class (though he first committed to the Jaguars under Campbell), while left tackle Malachi Carney and center Kenton Jerido signed in 2022.

Back-up right guard Reed Buys and No. 2 right tackle Jordan Davis came in out of the transfer portal this past spring, Buys from Mississippi State and Davis from South Carolina. The Jaguars have also signed a number of future depth pieces, including Auburn transfer Daniel Foster-Allen in 2022 and Mississippi State transfer Lucas Taylor and freshmen Adrian Griffin and John Ward this past summer.

The South Alabama offensive line flexed its muscles in the first scrimmage of preseason camp, piling up an unofficial 233 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Things were a little tougher in scrimmage No. 2, but it’s still evident that the Jaguars have come a long way up front.

“You’ve got some experience mixed in with some guys who are new,” offensive coordinator Major Applewhite said. “We’ve also moved some guys around to different positions. Just consistency is really what we’re looking — consistency of play, communication up front, recognition, obviously physicality, that’s the biggest part, but just consistency in play.”

South Alabama takes Saturday and Sunday off from practice before returning to the field on Monday morning. The Jaguars open the season at Tulane on Sept. 2, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.