TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alex Leatherwood spent his sophomore season at an unfamiliar position.

Last year, Alabama had an All-American and future first-round draft pick at left tackle in Jonah Williams, so Leatherwood -- the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2017 recruiting cycle, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite -- started 15 games at right guard.

Now a junior, Leatherwood has moved back to tackle and started the last seven games at left tackle.

“I guess you could say that I felt like I was back home because that was the position that I started off in,” Leatherwood said. “Then I moved to guard for the team so we could have a good O-line, I guess. Yeah, I feel back home.”

And Leatherwood is thriving at left tackle.

The Pensacola, Fla., native was named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week following his dominant performance in the Crimson Tide’s 35-13 win over Tennessee. He played 62 snaps and did not allow a sack, hurry or pressure on Alabama’s quarterbacks, and he only missed one assignment on the night while helping UA rack up 140 rushing yards.

“He played really well,” head coach Nick Saban said. “It was probably his best game overall. Alex has played well for us all year long, but I thought that he really, really did a good job in this game. I thought the entire offensive line did a good job in this game.

“We did make a couple mistakes in pass protection that got the quarterback hit, but all in all, I thought they did a good job and Alex especially played well in this game. He was physical, he played with a lot of toughness, he didn’t make any mental errors. He really did a nice job.”

Alabama left tackle Alex Leatherwood

But Leatherwood didn’t enter the Week 8 game any differently than the other six games.

“My approach for this week, it wasn’t that much different from the other weeks,” Leatherwood said. “I just came to work and did my job. I executed on Saturday, I guess.”

That was the same mindset the 6-foot-6, 310-pound lineman had when he “made the sacrifice to go play guard for a year,” as Saban put it in the spring. He studied film of some of the best guards in the NFL, including Marshal Yanda and Zack Martin, and how they played the game, and that is what Leatherwood told teammate Evan Neal to do in order to play guard.

Neal, like Leatherwood, was the nation’s No. 1 tackle in the 2019 recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite. But he was asked to play left guard his first year in crimson.

“The advice that I gave to him was to just watch the best players at his position do their job,” Leatherwood said. “Dudes like Quenton Nelson and stuff like that, like NFL guards. Just watch a lot of film on them and their technique and how they work to apply it to your game so you can get better.”

Leatherwood is seeing success at left tackle this season, but he will now be blocking the blind side of quarterback Mac Jones, who will start this weekend against Arkansas with usual starter Tua Tagovailoa sidelined by a high ankle sprain. Does that change anything for him?

Just like playing guard or performing the last seven games, Leatherwood’s approach is the same.

“No, not really,” Leatherwood said. “I mean, you still have the same expectations and duties as the right tackle or the left tackle, no matter what side you play on.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).