It will be the start of a new era for the Alabama football team as Kalen DeBoer is the head coach for the team after a legendary stint under Nick Saban who has been in the role since 2007 before retiring after last season. Even though Saban won six national championships with the program, Crimson Tide starting quarterback Jalen Milroe makes a case why the team is at a much better place now than ever before.
Milroe has been with the Alabama football program since 2021 and really stepped on the scene in 2023 where he started most of the season throwing for 2,834 yards to go along with 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 531 yards and added on 12 scores with that as he told Kennington Smith III of The Athletic that the “adversity” which was Saban's retirement “made us better.”
“We had a great offseason,” Milroe said. “That adversity (in the month after Saban’s retirement), that made us better. I’m glad we went through it because it made us stronger as a group. I’ll say we have the right support system to be successful this year, so I’m excited about that.”
Milroe on how reps are viewed in the new Alabama football coaching staff
In Saban's last season with the Crimson Tide, Milroe was the starting quarterback and led them to the Rose Bowl where they lost to the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in Michigan. Now, DeBoer is in charge and while the expectations are the same as when Saban was the coach, the feel is different as Milroe details how reps are viewed in the mind of the staff during practice.
“The players said 10, but the coaches said, ‘That’s wrong, you had them all because you can take both mental and physical reps,’” Milroe said. “In a block, I can have four plays, and the backup goes in, and they run four plays, but I had each and every rep that he had when he went in. That’s the thing that we have within the team right now is to maximize the opportunities that we have right now. We’re just truly pushing each other every day so that when game one finally arrives, we’ll be ready.”
The DeBoer era is a “stark contrast” of Saban
Under the new Alabama football regime with DeBoer, it is already being perceived as a “stark contrast” between him and Saban. Despite a bevy of differences, there is reportedly a new “energy” that is not even described as better or worse, but “different” per The Athletic.
“The changes might seem minor, but it’s a stark contrast from the Saban era,” Kennington wrote. “Within the program, the energy is described as different — not better or worse, just different. Though the changes are highlighted, certain old elements remain, including the famed Fourth Quarter offseason conditioning program and several coveted off-field staffers from administration to recruiting to coaches, who were highlighted by the Alabama players in their early meetings with DeBoer.”
At any rate, the Crimson Tide under DeBoer and Milroe will look to build off of last season where the team went 12-2, 8-0 in conference play where they finished fourth in the rankings. This upcoming season, they open the schedule up against Western Kentucky at home on Saturday, August 31.
Follow Us
Subscribe
