The recruiting challenge almost every college program faces simply doesn't apply to Alabama.

Those intimately familiar with the football landscape will tell you there's a shortage of defensive linemen capable of excelling in a game now dominated by hurry up, no huddle spread offenses. Athletic defensive ends are especially hard to come by given the need for a player to fare well in multiple fronts. Everyone wants the freak defensive end who can play three downs, but there aren't near enough to go around.

"The game is changing at the high school level," said former Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage. "You have more wide receivers, more defensive backs and less defensive linemen. The pool has shrunk for those front-seven players which is why you keep that at a premium."

Yet the shortage hasn't left Alabama hungry.

The Crimson Tide had the deepest, most talented defensive line in the country in 2015. It'd be unfair to attribute Alabama's national championship to only one unit, but the defensive line deserves as much credit as any. Headlined by A'Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed and Jonathan Allen, Alabama had a defensive line that could stop the run, get pressure on the quarterback and not tire over the course of the game because of all the players that rotated in.

Alabama has a seemingly endless supply of defensive linemen because of the way it recruits. In its last three defensive line recruiting classes, the Tide signed two five-stars, nine four-stars and four three-star prospects, according to 247Composite. At least one of those recruits -- Jarran Reed -- should be a first-round NFL Draft pick this year. It's what allows Alabama to avoid a noticeable drop-off in the trenches even after it loses multiple players to graduation or the draft.

How does Alabama succeed year-after-year while others struggle? Credit the Tide's national recruiting approach. All but a few schools are somewhat limited by their geography and the areas they traditionally recruit. That means if a school's home state and surrounding states don't have great defensive line prospects that year, the school is out of luck. Former Mississippi State recruiting coordinator Tony Hughes, now the head coach at Jackson State, used to say that if there are five great linemen in Mississippi, you try to take all of them because there might be zero in the next class.

However, Alabama isn't limited to one geographic region and has proven it can successfully land players from anywhere in the country. In just the last three years, Alabama has signed defensive linemen from eight states and Washington, D.C.

The approach enables the rich to keep getting richer.

"We go nationally and you can find whatever kind of defensive lineman you want," said Alabama defensive line coach Bo Davis. "It's not the fact you are trying to find a particular one. You find one that fits what you do, you like him and you do what you do."

When you can be picky like Alabama can, the biggest thing comes down to fit in the system. Outside of this year's signee Kendell Jones, a massive 375-pound defensive tackle, that's meant going smaller and more athletic. Three of Alabama's five defensive line signees in this year's class weigh 285 pounds or less. Savage, who also serves as a color analyst for Alabama games, has seen the Tide target more players like Jonathan Allen and D.J. Pettway.

"Anybody who is physical enough to stagger a block against the run, but quicker and athletic enough to rush the passer," he said. "That's the ideal."

Finding Savage's ideal can be an arduous task.

Unless you are Alabama.

"There's not one that's really hard to find because they are all out there," Davis said. "Do I want that guy or that guy? You can find any of them that you want."