Everything Kalen DeBoer Said after Alabama's Dominant Win over South Carolina

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama continued its undefeated start to 2026 with a dominant 49-18 win over South Carolina.

DeBoer spent time with the media after the win. Here's everything he had to say:

Full Transcript

Opening statement

“Good, complementary football tonight. Look back to the early part of the game and just some plays that were made. Talked to the team about that already. You know, getting stops on some downs early, or in our territory, a fourth-down stop, and then guys having explosive opportunities with throwing to [Lotzier Brooks], putting it on the money, having great protection, and [Brooks] finishing off.

“And so the execution thought was better tonight. Thought we did a pretty good job playing clean football. Had a few penalties, but I thought our emotional maturity just when a couple times it got a little chippy there- I thought our guys do a really good job of putting the team first. Proud of them for that.

“And just, you know, scored in the red zone, got all touchdowns. Took the turnover margin and won that two-zero, scored off of both takeaways there. Got 14 points. And so, you know, good to see Noah Rogers out there, get a catch and involved, and excited for him. The team was excited for him as well. AK got back out there.

“So, you know, fourth quarter, finished it off. Did an okay job at this third quarter. You’d like to do it a little bit earlier, but our guys, I thought, continued to stay the course, continued to play. And, you know, the way we started was promising, and the way we finished, and that’s what we take a lot of pride in.

“That’s our identity. And we’ve really done a good job in the second half for the most part in all four games, and we did that again tonight.”

on starting faster offensively

“Well, I mean, actually, we gave up the first play, right? It was an explosive run. But, you know, just guys settling in. Just, I mean, it’s execution, you know. And you hope that every game we play, our guys become more and more familiar with ourselves and, you know, confident in ourselves.

“And the more film we get, the more opportunities to know what we’re gonna see in front of us helps, too. But I thought the guys just cut it loose. Had a good week of practice. That always carries over. Never have to question the energy in practice and the effort in practice. That’s never gonna be a problem with our guys.

“We got guys that love football. They’re just constantly, even today, watching football, and, you know, we’re focusing on our stuff. But they just enjoy being around each other. They got each other’s backs. And they’re gonna keep playing. They don’t wanna let each other down.

“And so I think taking what we’ve learned from the last three games and applying it to tonight, and really trying to be dialed in early, not that we weren’t before, but the execution certainly showed up, and guys made plays.”

on Tight ends Josh Ford and Marshall Pritchett

“They were, I thought, again, very consistent. A lot of different guys involved. The touchdown to Josh, that was great to see. And the catch at the end to Marshall was pretty impressive.

“And, you know, when you’re running routes and getting tight ends involved that far down the field, usually you think of receivers running some of those routes. That shows the confidence and ability level that those guys have, and that we have in them.

“And so, you know, when we can get the run game going, the tight ends are gonna open up in the play action game, and that showed up tonight at quite a few times, not just with the tight ends, but also with the receivers as well.”

On quarterback Keelon Russell settling in

“Yeah, you know, just every game is its own game. But I feel like the last few, he’s learned a lot from the first game, protecting himself, knowing when he needed to move the chains, keeping a cool head when something breaks down, maybe with the protection, seeing the field, keeping his eyes up, keeping plays alive, get outside the pocket, keeping the run pass optional, you know, intact.

“And so not trying to do too much, knowing that, you know, live to see another down, throwing it away, running. We’re gonna make those plays. Just, you know, gotta give yourself another chance. And so not trying to do too much. He’s got the guys around him that can go make plays, and so just trusting them, trusting himself.

“I thought he made some more strides again tonight with his play-making ability and, you know, just putting the ball in the money, especially with the balls farther down the field.”

On Alabama's pass protection

“Yeah. And, you know, when you got a guy like six on the other side, Dylan Stewart, you know, you’re very conscious about that and making sure that your protection is in place. And I thought we had a good plan, you know, to make sure that the right opportunities were at the right time.

“And our guys got the job done. And so it’s a combination of offensive line, you know, our tight ends are involved in that at times, along with our running backs doing their job. We saw some pressures that we communicated and picked up well.

“We’ve, you know, maybe over the last couple weeks had a couple times where we went off plays where there was a guy in our backfield coming free. I think we’re shoring that stuff up and just getting trust in each other, doing your job, not just mentally, but also physically.

“And so when Keelon gets time back there and our guys can run down the field and go make plays, it’s great to see that you got the deep shots, but then you also, you’re hitting the intermediate stuff, too.

“And, you know, you’re getting a real well-rounded offense right now with the play action coming off the run and then the run game getting its time, too. But they were playing down so low. You saw our play action, you know, shots get down the field behind people, time and time again. And so, you know, just had to take it when it was there.”

Timing and accuracy

“Yeah, I think what you’re seeing now is you’re seeing he knows the offense, and then you’re seeing him feel comfortable, really comfortable with each week it’s gonna be a different defensive scheme and philosophy as far as how they see us and perceive us and how they’re gonna, you know, try to attack us.

“But then the next part of it is just hitting guys on the run. You know, explosive plays in the pass game, gotta have the protection, but it’s timing and ball placement. And so he’s got the time, he’s throwing more on rhythm, and not as late as he was earlier in the season.

“And again, that’s a trust factor, but then he’s putting the ball with great ball placement and accuracy to where guys can catch it on the run and go make plays.

“And so seeing the defense, trusting our scheme and how it matches up against it, and then, you know, throwing the ball where it needs to be and not putting ourselves at risk.

“You know, I really feel good about that part of it. You know, he’s not putting the ball in position where, you know, it’s getting tipped all over the place and things like that. He’s being smart with it and making plays.”

Depth and team chemistry

“Yeah, yeah. And for Tyrell to be ready, that was, you know, for all our guys. But Tyrell and any of our running backs hopping in there, we got a full arsenal there with those guys that are all, you know, would love to have more reps I’m sure. But getting AK back, healthier there, so I’m just proud of our team.

“On the sideline you can feel the energy. They’re happy for each other when plays are made, genuinely, and that unified spirit kind of I think within has continued to grow and grow. And so they know if other guys make plays, and we stay on the field offensively, they’re gonna get their chance as well.

“So, yeah, getting Tyrell out there, get some valuable snaps at the end there. You know, unfortunately with Jayvin going down, you know, we’ll kinda see what that looks like here the next couple days.

“But, you know, Tyrell getting out there, he’s more than capable. He’s physically able to get it done. And so, you know, happy that he got out there and had some success.”

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