Kalen DeBoer Speaks with Media Ahead of Bye Week
The head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kalen DeBoer, spent time with the media following Alabama's 34-0 victory over the Missouri Tigers. DeBoer did not host his usual press conference on Monday with Alabama on a bye week, but he spoke with reporters in Birmingham, Al.
Here's what the head coach of the Crimson Tide had to say on Monday.
Opening Statement:
“We’ve got the bye week here and just a chance to get out and do a few speaking engagements. I know our staff’s got a little bit of that going on, too, as well as some opportunities to get out and do some recruiting, especially later in the week," DeBoer said. "So it’s a good time for our guys, I think, two-thirds of the way through the season, just heading into November here, coming off a win and kind of get healthy and just go lay it on the line. Always focused on getting better, and the guys, I think, have a good mindset about that. They have all season long. Excited for the rest of the season and what comes with it.”
When Will Alabama Begin LSU Preparation?
“The staff will be working on that already with the game planning here today. We’ll get into practice on Wednesday and Thursday. We do all have fall break at the end, so there’s no classes at the end of the week. But the guys get today away as far as the players are concerned, and we’ll get back in the weight room and do some stuff tomorrow.”
How does a win going into the bye week help in a do-or-die game against LSU?
“That’s the way we’re looking at every single one of them. We’ve gotta be comfortable being uncomfortable. We preach that just as far as emphasizing strain when it comes to just what we do every day, no matter what the situation is. And now, we’re really in that moment. I thought we passed the first test as far as it being in that kind of time of being uncomfortable, and the guys really honed in on what they can control and that was a lot of focus, all the work that’s needed to prepare to be great on Saturday. We took a step. Continue to be a work in progress. We’ll always be that way. I don’t care how good you are. But I’m proud of the way that they have continued to respond each and every time in everything we ask them to do.”
Any Injury Updates on Cole Adams?
“I don’t have an update on him. That’ll probably be later today. And then, yeah. With Ryan and Bak in particular, just rotating those guys. Really it’s probably more about who we’re comfortable with. There’s a little bit with maybe what we’re trying to do specifically. Bak’s someone we’re very comfortable with, and we rotated Ryan in there, too. Both of them are guys we trust.”
Does DeBoer want to keep rotating punt returners or settle into one specific player?
“I think Bak was the first one we threw out there. And some of them might just be the situation. Are we just looking to get it caught? Or are we looking for an explosive play? Who seems comfortable back there? What’s the week been like as far as those guys and their consistency? Cole’s that been way, and that’s why he was that guy up until we couldn’t play him. We’re comfortable with both of those guys.”
LSU is always an emotional game, and Alabama has a bye week to reset ahead of the game. How does DeBoer keep Alabama level-headed heading into that game?
“Whether that is what it is or not, that’s how we’re gonna approach it even though we really don’t need to say too much in regards to that. We’re just focusing on what we can do right now in the moment and really honing in on the kind of mindset that you’re only as good as your last play. You’re only as good as your last game. So take the things and learn from the Missouri game, just like we would everything else. But really, just we’ve gotta go out and play our best game that we possibly can against LSU. And that goes back to the work that’s gotta be done between now and then. The pressure is naturally gonna be there for every game. We can’t put added pressure to ourselves. We’ve just gotta go out and play, be at our best. That comes through confidence and in the prep that you put in.”
One of the biggest concerns with ALabama's loss to Tennessee was crowd noise. If it was an issue, how does Alabama prepare for LSU?
“You’d love to say it wasn’t, but I think it arguably was. I think there’s, right off the bat, some issues with the snap count and things like that. So I think we worked into it, and we’ll continue to do the things in the week of preparation to mimic that and give us as many snaps as possible where we’re really relying on silent cadences and so forth, prepare for the hardest scenarios. But I felt like we did a good job of that, but we got in the moment and we struggled, especially early on.”
Late in Alabama's win over Missouri, DeBoer was in the face of Roq Montgomery. Why the intense coaching when up big late in the game?
“… I do remember. Just things that are happening that you just wanna be better at. Just the moments that we were going through, and I just felt like there was some things we could be better with how we were handling and being composed. And that’s just the expectation for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the field for the first snap, at the end of the game, up or down. We’ve been emphasizing doing things the right way and playing to the standard, and that’s what that was all about. Roq’s a great kid, gives everything he has to the program. It’s not specifically about him, it’s just about everyone.”
Alabama's defense has improved down the stretch, what does DeBoer think of the adjustments and improvements of Kane Wommack's crew?
“Just stay the course. And I think you see success come with guys working together. I thought they did a nice job trying to piece it together, especially going into the Tennessee week. You’re always disappointed, especially when you come out short. But I thought the staff did a nice job trying to simplify things, move some pieces around. We had to have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C for guys in case injuries presented themselves at certain positions. But there’s been some cross training of positions that I think guys really, you can kind of almost see that that’s gonna be something that they might be down the road. I think we maybe envisioned that for some of them. We just have to get some of those things sooner than what we probably anticipated, and that being right now.
“So the mindset, getting the shutout was big for them. We threw some guys back out there that maybe weren’t in that drive at that moment, and that was important to me to get that shutout. Called timeout, I wanted to see, look at what they were going to do so we could get our feet in the dirt and play ball and try to preserve the shutout. That drive was disappointing because we threw some new faces in and we gave up, I believe, three explosives, and I think there was maybe only four in the total game – one before that. So the expectation of one yard being too many is continuing to evolve, and giving up no points is what the expectation is for our defense. So I thought we took a step in the right direction there. We’ve gotta building on the turnovers and getting those takeaways has been huge, especially the last three weeks. I love that about what they’re doing, too.”
Ty Simpson raced downfield attempting to throw a block on Richard Young's big run at the end of the game. What did DeBoer think of it?
“I saw that, too. And not just Ty, but that was a great effort on his end. We’ve just got a lot of guys that want it so bad for the team, and when they get their opportunities – and that was one for Ty. I thought getting down the field, and he can run, too, and we saw that. But just team players wanting to do everything they can to help their teammates out, and that was a great example for sure.”
"I’m gonna be all about it. You’ve gotta be smart, right? But he’s giving great effort, and you’re never gonna take that away from those guys.”
DeBoer will speak once again on the Wednesday SEC Coaches teleconference, then on Wednesday night during Hey Coach and the Kalen DeBoer show.
Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.
Alabama's Homecoming Shut Out of Missouri
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Alabama's Disappointing Loss to Tennessee
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Alabama Survives South Carolina
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Alabama Stunned by Vanderbilt in Nashville
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Alabama Drowns Georgia in Thrilling 41-34 Victory
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Crimson Tide Floods Camp Randall
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Alabama's 42-16 Win Over South Florida
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Every Championship Nick Saban Won
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Crimson Tide's NFL Draft First-Rounders During Saban's Tenure
Gallery Credit: Jacob Harrison