Chris Kapilovic had a problem when he was offensive coordinator at North Carolina. The currently Alabama football offensive line coach entered a season thinking he was good on center numbers.

He quickly found out the truth.

“Can’t have enough of them,” Kapilovic told reporters on Saturday. “I lost three in a week at North Carolina. And I thought I was really good with four, and I wasn’t.”

Kapilovic changed his entire philosophy at the position. No longer was snapping going to be limited to four players on his depth chart, he was going to have eight to ten offensive linemen learning to perform the function.

That’s something he continued at Alabama after arriving this offseason. The obvious suspects at center are snapping, including Parker Brailsford, Geno VanDeMark and Roc Montgomery.

But Kapilovic also has players down the depth chart in other places working. Olaus Alinen is one of those, as are Joseph Ionata, William Sanders and some of Alabama’s younger offensive linemen.

According to the coach, the snapping is something that could pay off down the line.

“For them and their futures, it’s huge,” Kapilovic said. “It’s one of the first questions I hear from NFL scouts, ‘Can he snap?’ I can say yes, even if they’re not doing it in their live scenarios, then when they grab them on their pro days, or whatever then it’s nothing for them, so it’s good for all of us.”

The younger players and depth pieces aren’t the only ones getting snaps in. Kapilovic singled out junior guard Tyler Booker, one of the Crimson Tide’s top NFL prospects up front, as one who snapped throughout the summer.

Booker explained how the experience could help him in the future.

“At the next level you need to be able to play three positions,” Booker said. “I feel like I have tackle under my belt. I can definitely play guard, being able to play center is the next step, so I’ll definitely get some snaps in as we go further.”

Alabama returns to the practice field Sunday morning for its fourth preseason camp session. The Crimson Tide opens the season Aug. 31 against Western Kentucky.