Everything Kalen DeBoer Said After Alabama's First Fall Practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama was back on the practice field on Wednesday as the program kicked off the 2026 season. The Crimson Tide practiced outdoors in shells as the first practices serve as an acclimation period, but head coach Kalen DeBoer spent time with the media after practice to discuss the quarterback battle, the offensive line progress and to give a health update on a few players.

Kalen DeBoer’s opening statement

“Just obviously walked off the field, number one. As you'd expect, I mean, it's going to be high energy, and the guys will never feel as good as they feel today. So, it's no complaining, no excuses. It's moving forward. The bar's been set with how they operate today, and we move on to the next, and that's everything. So it's what we eat, it's their treatment, it's paying attention to details, and all the way through the rest of the day with our meetings, walk-throughs, whatever it might be. So, looking forward to building on what we did today.”

DeBoer on how the quarterbacks looked to start

“I thought they were consistent. Made a couple of explosive plays in there. A couple of plays that you can just see getting on the same page with a receiver-type guy. Might not be a receiver, but tight ends, running backs. Just little details. So, I thought they were consistent. And I love the demeanor, love their command. We're into it, and you can see the belief that the guys have.”

DeBoer on what he wants/needs to see from the two quarterbacks over the first week

“We talkedabout response. Someone's going to want to play every down, right? So, there's going to be something when you're going against each other, and you just try to make that as game-like as possible. So, what's the response? And that's a lot of football. And the momentum, getting it on your side and keeping it on your side. And there's going to be plays that don't go your way. But what's it look like? How are you coming together?“We're identifying leaders beyond the guys that we expect to be able to stand up when needed and take charge. But as a whole team, that's what it's got to be. And right now, it's kind of an offense versus defense thing. So, you're trying to, at the same time, build belief and confidence in each other while you're really trying to ask them, one side of the ball to just kick the other side's ass all day.”

DeBoer on if anyone is starting camp on the sideline

“Nothing for discipline. Just guys that are working into a couple of reps. There’s really nothing major. It's more of just guys that we're trying to see — Danny Lewis, for example, would be a guy, just making sure as we work into the physicality and everything. It’s been a long road for him for a couple of years. And so, he's in as good a spot as he's been since really after the bowl game in 2024. And so, just trying to be careful with where he's at and making sure he can manage that. I thought he did a good job today. So, there's a couple guys just like that.”

DeBoer on if Alabama players are paying attention to the doubts from outside the program

“Yeah, we are definitely aware."

DeBoer on EJ Crowell

“He did some nice things. It’s good to see him out there, flying around. A couple times, you see what you saw from his high school highlight film. Excited to see him. We’re not in pads right now, so a lot of that is yet to be seen. But just execution, he’s got to catch the ball well. I think he’s got a really good head on his shoulders from what we’ve seen so far and being able to be consistent that way, learn the offense. When he gets in there in rotation with the running backs, like he was today, he did his job.

”DeBoer on what players can show early in camp before the pads go on

“Communication. Just over-communicating. I think that shows how important it is to you to do the right thing and also making sure your guy next to you, behind you, in front of you, that you're all on the same page. That helps with the attention to detail. And just a team that communicates is a team that is going to be a confident one down the road. So, it helps with our execution. That's what it's about right now is executing, doing your job first, and just building that belief and trust of the guys around you that they're going to be where they're supposed to be.”

DeBoer on how he would assess today’s communication

“I thought they did a good job. I brought that up at the end of practice with them. That's one of the reasons why it was right at the front of my mind. I could see some guys being intentional. Maybe one or two guys I’d asked a little bit more out of them. They were doing a good job, looking great at it, and they did and you could see that throughout the rest of the practice. They went above and beyond and wanted to make sure that they were living up to that standard."

DeBoer on how he sees the new faces on the offensive line catching up

“I thought it looked a lot better and cleaner than what it did at the end of spring. Again, we don't have pads on, so it's really hard to tell. But I thought that from responsibilities and just, again, there's got to be a trust that exists. It isn’t just doing your job. It's knowing where that help is coming from. Is it the double team and the footwork and being in sync? And you can rep a lot of those things and make sure you're on the same page this summer, and you can tell the guys have been working at that and being intentional that way, too.”

What’s the message to the guys as they start fall camp?

“Just keep working. We’ve talked about working in silence since January. These guys just doing their thing, not getting caught up in anything they can’t control. We know what our goals are. We know what our expectations are. We’ve never shied away from that. We attack the day. The challenge for us right now is to continue to just become one, and that’s been our theme here going into camp is just uniting. It’s 11 guys on offense, 11 guys on defense, special teams. But also as a whole program, having each other’s back. That’s the challenge we’ve got to continue with so many guys in the program.

“I’ve been pleased with it, but we’ve got to be great because there’s some big time moments that are gonna be coming our way. With the schedule you have, you know that’s going to happen in college football, so we’ve got to be ready, be prepared, know how we’re going to respond.”

Message to guys in position battles

“What you want is you want the guy you’re competing against to be at his best. That’s what a great teammate does, and then you want to be at your best to win that position, win that battle. Just talking to guys about not hoping the other guy fails and isn’t at his best, because that doesn’t help our team. Having that becoming one where the team success is because of you being and doing everything you can and being elite and wanting the teammate you’re competing against to be the same.”

On OL William Sanders’ status

“It’s good having him back. There’s very few guys on the offensive line in particular that have snaps in our program, and he’s one of them. Missing the spring, you feel it out a little bit. Again, just continuity. Not saying execution wise, things like that. Just another guy that knows how things go, knows the operation, knows the offense. So it was good to have him back.”

On guys setting the tone energy and leadership wise on the first day of camp

“I would say it’s who you’d expect. I think we’ve talked a lot about the guys we took to media days, right. Bray definitely. ZB does it. He's not as vocal, but man, he's got this presence about him and this way. It’s just a great one-two punch there. I think those guys on defense have really brought along others. Dijon. The experience in the secondary is kind of where it starts. That swagger, that’s where it starts.

“And then with the new guys joining in with the returners in the front seven, you can see more of that building. Guys who have played a lot of snaps fro us in the past and some of the transfers who we expect to also be key performers for us that again, I think, have done a great job of meshing. You know, probably this one of the one of words I’ve used is just meshing with the rest of the group.

“Offensively, Ryan, our quarterbacks, I think they’ve been great. I think there’s been a slow build. I mean, I think again, a lot of it’s through the work, and that’s what we’ve asked. Jackson Lloyd, I think we expect him and Michael Carroll in the room offensive line-wise, and I think Will will get there too as he gets back in the full go.

“I think there’s other guys that have just stuck to taking care of business. You see Kaleb working, Marshall. Josh has a presence when he’s on the field. Still, kind of like I said, with the defensive line transfers, fitting into his role and does it with his play, maybe more so than with his talk. Running back is probably the same way. Daniel Hill’s had a great offseason I think. Some of those guys right there are just going about their business, going about their work. Being leaders doesn’t always have to mean being vocal, but we’re going to ask that out of them. There’s a progression to it from taking care of their job and then bringing them into it.”

On what Kalen DeBoer has seen from right tackles Jayvin James and Nick Brooks

"I think just being new, it's still just about being consistent. I think they're really doing it. I think they've come a long way in that area. This spring, I would say, you could see what their potential was; you could see what they're capable of. Each of them came into June, the end of May, when we returned. There was definitely them coming back now knowing what it feels like, what the expectations are.

I think both of them had great summers. They had great summers, both those two guys. I'm actually interested, we didn't have pads on, but I'm interested to see the film today and specifically hone in on guys like that and see what they did, and see how they executed.”

On how Adrian Klemm operates at practice

“I wasn’t right next to him today. I was kind of wandering around. Different coaches stand in different spots on the field. So you kind of know where guys are going to be and some of its where the coordinators are going to be at and the signalers. I haven’t identified and gotten next to Coach Klemm a lot. I think as far as the guys, our players, I like that they have a good, I think there’s a confidence in that they’re being coached well. They’re making the progression. That the work that they’re doing on the side is paying off. I think they can feel that. The film won’t lie and they’ll be called out. I think that’s what he does a great job of, but he also does it in a way where it’s always teaching, it’s always coaching. He’ll push them. He’ll do what you’d expect an elite offensive line coach to do as far as being demanding and getting after them, but he’s also got this way of building camaraderie, which is obviously critical for an offensive line as they continue to build confidence.”

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