Everything Kalen DeBoer Said After Alabama's A-Day Scrimmage

The Crimson Tide practiced for the final time this spring inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Alabama Crimson Tide football team held its spring finale inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide, under the watchful eye of new head coach Kalen DeBoer, practiced for just over two hours in front of passionate fans.

DeBoer spent time with the media after the scrimmage to put a cap on his first spring season at The Capstone.

This Story Will Be Updated With A Full Transcript of Everything Kalen DeBoer Said After Alabama's A-Day:

Kalen DeBoer's Opening Statement:

"Good afternoon. Great day. Fun day all together. Obviously it culminates with the scrimmage and getting to go spend some time with the guys and their families. We got a chance to meet with the parents this morning. We met with some different groups. Got a chance to get Coach Saban in front of the team. That was pretty cool to get a chance to see him and that's been since January really since that's happened. Really a lot of cool things. Scrimmage wise, if it was a half it would have been a tale of two halves, but that's why you keep playing. So many things that we're going to get to learn from from this scrimmage, depending on what side of the ball you're on. Overall I think I counted, I was trying to keep track during so I might be off, I think we had six penalties between the two sides. Which over - there what? was 85 plays, probably, roughly, kind of guessing. That's not too bad. That's actually improved each and every scrimmage so looking at those things and where we're improving. Rushing touchdowns offensively. The response defensively, getting down early and some of those things. Little things that the game brings with the TV. ESPN broadcasting it and us working through TV-timeouts and when to take the huddle and just talking through that. Right now, not that big of a deal if we're out there standing over the ball, but it will be this fall. A lot of things with guys who have never had that game action, starting from the quarterbacks to the rest of the offense and defensive side. I thought it was a good overall scrimmage, both sides kind of had their moments. Questions?"

What have you seen from the running back room this spring?

"Jam, Richard, in the backfield, running backs? Yeah I thought they did a better job when they saw a hole today, they hit it. Especially early on there were some seams and they're not dancing which means they're getting more and more comfortable with the schemes, the trusting of the offensive line. There was a couple more tackles broken which goes both ways, right? You want to see those tackles made by the defense, there's more tackles broken early on in the scrimmage than what I've seen. We've been pretty sure with our tackling up until the early part of the scrimmage today. Then they responded and did a better job."

How did Ty Simpson do and evaluate the other backup quarterbacks?

"Yeah, I mean you saw it. He does a great job back there. You've got full confidence with a lot of those guys back there, but Ty, I thought, again, he's just been consistent and gotten better throughout the spring. Never really had any drops and in each and every practice you see what he does out there and he's accurate, he knows when to put touch on it. You saw the one ball on the deep crosser. He's got good awareness. I thought all the quarterbacks did a better job of pushing the pocket at the right time. That's something I know we've been emphasizing, rather than just sitting back there and letting that rush on the edge get to you. He had a good feel on all those plays and I think he's got a command of the offense for sure."

What did you see in Olaus Alinen and Roq Montgomery?

"Yeah, and that's what we needed to a little bit out of necessity, just with guys getting dinged up and just being careful too with guys who have maybe been dinged up and just limiting the number of snaps up front. But it was good for those guys to work in, because you do see a difference with the execution, let's talk the offensive line, when one or two new guys are inserted. There's just a little bit other level of communication, so these are the moments we want to do that. Come this fall we get into the season, we're playing games, you want to be able to look back and count on these moments where those guys were inserted. I had to do some things where it was different groups working together than really any of the scrimmages that we've had. Good learning moment for, not just them, but the offensive line in general."

Jihaad Campbell and Jeheim Oatis injury update?

"Yeah, they're doing good. If we had another week, for sure if we had two weeks, but if we had another week of spring ball, by the end of next week I think - again I'm not the one who clears them- but I think they'd probably be both really close to ready to go. Just want to be careful and not push it. We don't want to set them back and they're right on pace. They're right where we expected to be based on what they each had, which are completely different types of injuries."

What did you think of Germie Bernard's performance?

"Yeah, I think he had a great day. I'm not sure if it was him right there at the end there, I'd like to rake that one in, but you saw it right away. The one that sticks out to me was the catch in contact, he went and high-pointed the ball. That was him, right? That was way down the field, I thought it was him, sometimes I'm watching a lot of things. That's what he does, he's a physical guy, the ball's up in the air, it's his. He's got that kind of mindset. I think the quarterbacks in particular really believe in him. He's a leader because that's just naturally what he does, but he's just really tried to work in with the receiving core, become one of them. He had some opportunities today and took advantage of them. He's going to be a good one for us, that's for sure."

How does spring football in Alabama compare to Sioux Falls?

"Well, we go back so far we couldn't even get to the point where you could go full pads with the rules. The spring game was thud-tempo and there's a lot of differences. Whatever it was 70-plus thousand? We're just shy of that there. The cool thing is football is football. What you see at all the places you're at guys that love to get out there. They're excited about their opportunity to go out and make plays and play the game they love, but this was a special day. A special day."

Did Jalen Milroe show big-play ability throuhgout the spring?

"I think it's come along with all the quarterbacks, so that would mean with Jalen too. It's something that's progressed throughout the spring. I don't think any of our guys, it's just timing, it's confidence, it's read-progressions and things like that and identifying, 'there's my one-on-one', 'there's the guy, where to put the ball'. I think it's something that's gotten to this point and it was great to see him continue to take that next step and have that progression. The last week or two that's been pretty consistent, early on, I can't say any of the quarterbacks were just getting dialed in and those plays were being made, so that's what got the offense to a hot start in the scrimmage is those explosive plays. I love that we came out of the locker room and kickoff happened and we're ready to go. Throw, catch, I thought protection, especially the first half to three quarters, the protection was as good as we've had. Now some of that was attributed to, early on, just kind of being a bit more vanilla defensively. The offense stayed ahead of the chains, stayed in positions where they could be dual-threat, run-pass options. Take your shots when they were there."

What's resonated most about this place and team the most to you?

"I think today was probably the day where it just really felt, you know. Seeing the guys coming on the Walk of Champions, just seeing that and feeling the energy and excitement of what it would be on a Saturday. That was a lot of fun. Being in the locker room. Just the excitement. Even today out there, I thought as hard as they were playing there was times where they were out there just looking out for each other too. I don't care if it was just offense-offense, defense-defense, but most importantly offense and defense, playing the game the way it's supposed to be played, and the energy, wanting to go out there and make the plays, but also not putting the team at risk just to go out there and make that one potential play that could put someone at risk. The energy, the excitement, kind of leading up to the spring game was something that hit me today."

Did you ever look around and realize how big Alabama football was?

"Yeah, I think I caught that a little bit I think early on. Enjoying that moment and as much as anything trying to make sure the guys did too. You take it in and you emphasize to the guys 'Hey enjoy this moment, you guys worked hard for this'. For a lot of these guys, it's their first spring game as well. They're first A Day. A lot of freshmen and transfers and so I made sure they relished this day and when you say those things you do it yourself as well."

Did you take delight in the fact the offense didn't turn the ball over?

"Yeah, that would have been the difference, probably in the scoring. That's usually with the scoring system we use, where you get the takeaways and the score evens up in a hurry. The offense has done a pretty good job. I don't think in any of the scrimmages the quarterbacks threw a pick in all three of them. Now there was times when the ball was on the ground in a couple scrimmages so defense, flying around has caused some turnovers throughout the spring, got their share of interceptions in our different scrimmages that we've had that weren't a part of the big three we've been live. So when it matters most you're proud. I noticed some ball security too that I was impressed with. I think that's come a long ways. I watched a drill on Thursday in particular where it's a circuit and the ball security. You kind of hammer and scream at them over and over through 15 practices and you're like 'Man I don't know if they're getting it', but you saw on Thursday how far we've come if you flipped the film on from that drill compared to the first day."

What did you like about the defense's response to falling behind on the scoreboard?

“Yeah it is. And really just not worrying about the score. And I heard that on that side, just not worried about the score and continuing to get better and be in the moment. Get the guys on the ground when you have a chance to tackle and just play the next play.

“We talk in terms of a '1-0 mindset'. So, win the next rep. And they did that more than the offense did in the second part of the scrimmage. I think the flip side is, there are just some easy plays that the offense needs to make, catching the ball in particular. And for whatever reason, those are some great learning moments that we will carry into this summer on both sides— why you don’t stop playing and why you gotta keep your head and keep the focus and stay locked in for the entire time you're on the football field.