Awe, Anticipation and Alabama's Lingering Rose Bowl Ache

LOS ANGELES — A football game does not earn the moniker “The Granddaddy of Them All” by accident.

For more than a century, the Rose Bowl has stood as one of the sport’s most iconic stages. It is a place where lifelong memories are made, legacies are created, and careers are defined. This fact is not lost on the Alabama football program as Kalen DeBoer's squad prepares for tomorrow's showdown with Indiana.

"I know our guys are looking forward to this moment," DeBoer said on Wednesday. "I know a lot of people have this as kind of bucket list items when it comes to coaching and the opportunity to be here. So it's pretty special."

Including walk-ons, Alabama boasts 14 players from California. Starting cornerbacks Dijon Lee and Zabien Brown grew up in Los Angeles County, while Domani Jackson, Josh Cuevas, and Kaleb Edwards are among the others from the state.

"It feels great to be back home and at this historic place," Northern California native and freshman offensive lineman Jackson Lloyd said. "Most of my grandparents can't make it out to Alabama, so they are making it out here. It's always fun to have them come out to games, so I'm excited."

For some players, the significance of the game extends beyond their own experience. Freshman All-American tackle Michael Carroll grew up hearing stories about the game from his father, a Penn State linebacker who played in the Nittany Lions' 1995 Rose Bowl win over Oregon.

"He just told me to give it my all and take it all in," Carroll said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I just thank God and my family."

While many players said they had always dreamed of playing in this game, others never even imagined having the opportunity. Despite having already played in the game in 2024, Iowa native Kadyn Proctor remains gratified at the opportunity to take part in the contest.

"It means a lot," Proctor said. "People don't really get to travel out here. I know I didn't get to travel a lot when I was in high school. I'm just really blessed to be here and to have this opportunity. It's awesome."

Proctor's sentiment is echoed by fellow Midwesterner DeBoer, who spent the first 35 years of his life almost exclusively in South Dakota.

"Growing up in South Dakota and not having gone outside of South Dakota, it seemed like so far away, but you knew the game, and you knew the pageantry around it," DeBoer said. "I remember the commentators saying what they said, the games being played, it seemed like such a distant thing in my mind, not growing up around Division I football in the middle of South Dakota, just didn't seem like something that was real.

"As you go through the years coaching, you just truly realize how special of a place this is. When you walk in, even when it's not the Rose Bowl game, you really can feel how awesome the place is."

DeBoer has coached at the Rose Bowl twice in his career, including a 2021 upset victory over a ranked UCLA team while at Fresno State. His perspective resonates throughout the roster, particularly among players experiencing the Rose Bowl for the first time.

"It's something that I'll be able to tell my grandkids and my kids about for years," sophomore running back Daniel Hill said. "It's an experience that I really can't fathom right now because we haven't played yet. But once we get on the field, once I see the stadium, it will all become a reality."

Hill's current sense of awe was shared by the upperclassmen who made the trip to Pasadena in 2023, only for it to be replaced by heartbreak when the Crimson Tide was stuffed at the goal line in a 27-20 overtime loss to Michigan— a game that still haunts those who were there.

"I think about it all the time, how we felt in the locker room, how it ended," quarterback Ty Simpson said. "Thinking about all the scenarios of the game, where we should have won and should have put it away. I think back to losing."

Simpson was the backup behind Jalen Milroe in that game and on the sidelines, but his teammate Deontae Lawson played in the game, recording six tackles and two pass breakups. The now-graduate senior was on the field when the Wolverines scored what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown in overtime to end Alabama's season.

"I definitely use it for motivation," Lawson said. "I just remember when the clock hit zero and I saw the confetti fall, and I'm standing on the bench just watching Michigan celebrating, so I definitely don't want to feel that feeling again."

Awe, Anticipation and Alabama's Lingering Rose Bowl Ache

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