What Kalen DeBoer Said After Alabama's Second Spring Scrimmage

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football competed in its second spring scrimmage on Friday afternoon on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer held a press conference after the scrimmage concluded, as he discussed standout players and positions, the quarterback battle and much more.

This story will be updated with a full transcript.

Full Transcript:

Opening statement:

"Got 20 plus high school guys and then the transfers the first time really stepping inside Bryant-Denny and getting a feel for that," DeBoer said in his opening statement. "So we'll be back in here, obviously, next week for A Day. And then, you know, kicking game too, I think, first time really kicking in here. So it's good for those guys, whether it's the kickers or the punters. So, a competitive scrimmage. Probably flipped as far as who won early, who won late, probably from the first time. And that usually the case. Someone's got something to prove. And, you know, you can tell there's another level of install when it comes to what we've done this week on top of what we put into the first scrimmage. Some execution really good. Some execution that we certainly got to clean up. But, again, that's sometimes a part of the process. As we get to the second scrimmage, there's a lot happening, not just what you're doing, but what you're facing, what you got to you got to be ready for on the other side of the ball. So some some highs and lows for each side of the ball."

On the offensive line:

“I think there’s ones and there’s twos. I think there’s differences in what their strengths are right now. A lot of it is the matchups they have in front of them. I think you want me to talk about the ones first. Started a little bit slow the first couple drives. Got some seams, the running backs hit it for some explosives. And then it just goes back and forth. It’s the ebbs and flows of football, but I think overall what you see is they’re understanding what their responsibility is. Again, another level of install, some new things we put in. I feel like the stuff we’ve repped, and that’s across the board, they’ve done a good job of picking up. And the things that are newer, we still got some work to do. I think the potential’s there, you know, from run game slowly inching forward. It’s not all of a sudden you’re going to hit it all. I think there’s progress in certain things. There’s certainly schemes and stuff that we’re not strong enough at yet, but there’s some things we can go to if we have to play a game this weekend that we feel pretty confident in. Protecting the quarterback, again, it’s mostly the same concepts we’ve run, had a lot of reps under our belt on, we’re pretty sound in that. The stuff that’s newer, this week’s probably install, you can see that they’re not quite in sync. Probably had more pressure on the quarterback this week than what we had last week. I think there’s a little bit of both sides, whether it’s execution of offensive line or the defe side line wanting to prove something after last week, probably not getting as much pressure."

On the quarterbacks:

"They split it up pretty even. That was the goal. I'm not sure how it exactly ended. I know there was a count I caught close to the end, but it was close and we just tried to finish it out that way. But they have been splitting it. I would say today wasn't their sharpest day. A lot of it was what we were talking about with offensive line. It was just getting in sync with guys, the reps that they have had a lot. Maybe it's even the things that have had as part of our base offense that have done now for two years here, you can see everyone being in sync and playing with confidence. You're going to rip it with confidence. This is the new stuff that maybe isn't things we've had until this year or had as much of until this spring. You can see that we struggled with it. I would say that it wasn't up to the standard that they've had, but there's no doubt that if we had to play a game, there's some things that they do very well that we're confident in that they could execute at a high level."

On A-Day format:

"Yeah, we'll talk about. I think, I mean, there's little football dings that we have. Today, we scrimmaged the whole time, moved the ball in the field, tackling. It would be an offense versus defensive thing. I guess that's probably the first starting point. I don't like splitting up teams. I want guys working with guys, and taking advantage of every practice we can. Last week, we did a little bit of thud and then scrimmaged probably 80% of it. So we'll just kind of see as we get in through the week, see where we're at. But that's what most of it will be. So just be a lot of scrimmage. And, you know, we'll do what we probably did today."

On the running backs and EJ Crowell's status:

"EJ hasn't practiced since last week, so probably more of the same for next week. And I thought Kevin Riley, when he had seams to hit, he accelerated, showed some good bursts. He's got a good knack in between, slithering through, and and finding those holes. I thought, Daniel, I thought had a good week of practice. Probably didn't get is quite a many opportunities to hit the big ones today. That's not necessarily always on him. And so, you know, the guy that I thought had a nice week was Tre'Shawn. Showed it, you know, a little bit today in the scrimmage, but I thought throughout the week — there was some a live session, short yardage goal line and things like that, that he shows some pop. He showed some, some instinctiveness on how to get that first down when it's third-and-2, fourth-and-1, whatever it might be. And it's never pretty, it's never perfect, because there's a lot of dudes up on the line of scrimmage, but I think overall, he's had some good progress here to the spring."

On who holds the Green Dot at Inside Linebacker:

“There’s so many guys rotating in right now. I mean, Caleb’s gonna, you know, when Caleb’s not in there, you’re gonna have, you know, the other guys, it’s a combination of Luke and QB. Try not to do too much of it, but you also gotta get these guys prepped, and you find out who’s used to having, or can adapt to having the green dot and someone talking in his ear. Had a conversation when we first instituted the rule with an NFL defensive coordinator. I remember him telling me that one of his best players, an All-Pro, who you’d think has no problem, when he got that noise in his head, it was just something that slowed him up. It didn’t confuse him or anything, but it was just something that he wasn’t at his best. So, you do have to mix it up and see if there’s anything where it does cause a guy problems, but I guess we’re not to that point, we have so many guys rotating in to where we’re locked in on one guy or two guys, kind of letting it be spread across the board.”

On Keelon Russell’s command in the huddle:

“I try to put my nose in there and just hear exactly that as much as I can, whether it’s today or throughout the week. He’s almost at a point now where he doesn’t have to think when he says it, and now he’s got to slow down to make sure everyone is very clear, which is a good problem to have, right? Just being articulate and not rattling through the calls. At one point, he might messed up the call. It’s not perfect yet, because, again, there’s new installed plays that he’s just had first reps. Same thing with Austin; there’s some new stuff he hasn’t called as much, either, or at all. They’re picturing it in their head, and that’s what I like to see, is that they can rattle off, as far as the command with the players. I think both would step in the huddle, and if there’s chatter in there and they need eyes up on them, they’ll say it, and the guys all respond. So there’s a lot of respect that the team has for them, and obviously, the offensive guys who are in there in that moment, they have to do exactly that.”

On who is filling the void in the tight end room:

“There’s reps that were - Kaleb last year took a lot, and he didn’t have a spring and came in the summer. And so he wasn’t an early enrollee a year ago, so he got thrown in the fire with very few reps. Seeing his development both with the strength and an offseason, and then just his familiarity and how confident he is, I think it’s showing up. Marshall had a nice scrimmage today; probably one of his better showings that I’ve seen, as far as not just doing what you’re supposed to do, but standing out, making some plays. So I think it starts with those two, and then Josh is a guy that brings a demeanor. We just did our shout-outs and - I can’t remember who shouted him out, but it was about his - Bray, Bray Hubbard shouted him out, and talked about his demeanor. Him coming across on blocks and coming up the field on blocks, and you’ve got a full head of steam coming at you. He isn’t really scared of anyone, so it’s really good to see, and probably one of the biggest claps in the shout-outs was for Josh. So, you know, that’s something that you can see, even when you’re not around the guys all the time, someone behind the scenes seems to have the guys rallying around him and appreciate what he’s bringing.”

On which wide receiver impressed, and WR room progression:

“Noah, Noah’s been consistent, had a couple nice catches, had some big plays. I thought he was there when we needed to - even just sometimes short ones where you gotta move the chains - maybe it’s not just a complete natural catch. He’d probably be the one that stood out the most. Ryan had a great scrimmage last week. Derek Meadows has had some big plays throughout the whole spring; didn’t have really as many plays today. And then Lotzeir’s just continuing to do probably the same things that you saw him doing in the second half of the season. He’s part of the offense, so he’s a very versatile guy and can do things both down the field and short.”

Live Updates:

Kalen DeBoer said NC State transfer Noah Rogers "stood out the most" among the Alabama wide receivers.

DeBoer on Keelon Russell's command of the huddle: "It's almost to the point now, he doesn't have to think when he says (the play)."

Kalen DeBoer said linebackers Caleb Woodson, Luke Metz and QB Reese have each worn the green dot this spring.

Kalen DeBoer said freshman RB EJ Crowell hasn't practiced since last week and it'll probably be the same for next week. That said he commended fellow freshman running back Traeshon Brown.

Kalen DeBoer said Austin Mack and Keelon Russell had the same number of reps in the scrimmage, but "it wasn't up to the standard that they have."

On the offensive line play: "Probably want to talk more about the ones first started a little bit slow. The first couple of drives got some seams, and running backs hit it for some explosives then and then, you know, it just goes back and forth

Kalen DeBoer after Alabama's 2nd spring scrimmage: "Competitive scrimmage, probably flipped as far as who won early who won late...some execution really good. Some execution we've got to clean up."

Kalen DeBoer arrived for the press conference at 4:25 p.m.

The press conference is set for 4 p.m. CT.

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