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Alabama football is entering a new era in 2024. Long-time head coach Nick Saban has moved on, so Kalen DeBoer is now the head honcho in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer got his tenure as Alabama football's head coach off to a good start with a win against Western Kentucky.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe told Bama247's Mike Rodak that the team gave new head coach Kalen DeBoer the game ball after his first win with the Crimson Tide. Alabama destroyed Western Kentucky 63-0 in an exciting game to open the team's college football season.
Alabama encountered a number of unexpected challenges in the blowout victory, they just happened off the field.
Nick Kelly of AL.com reports that Western Kentucky had multiple issues with their headsets during the game. By rule, every time that Western Kentucky had an issue, Alabama had to turn off their headsets so as to not have a competitive advantage.
“I thought he handled it well,” running back Justice Haynes said. “Prepare for the unexpected. That’s what we always talk about. We didn’t think coming into the game that we were going to not have helmet communications. It happened. We adjusted. We were ready to go on the fly and do what we needed to do.”
Another unexpected surprise came when Kadyn Proctor apparently suffered an upper-body injury during warmups. Left tackle Elijah Pritchett had to take over, sliding over to the right side.
DeBoer admitted that it surprised him, but he loved how Pritchett responded.
“Excited about the way he responded, in a sudden moment getting thrown into that position and really being steady,” DeBoer said.
Brady Quinn recently questioned if Alabama football's DeBoer is a good fit with Milroe
Not everyone is in love of the idea of Kalen DeBoer at Alabama.
Analyst Brady Quinn recently questioned the pairing of DeBoer and Milroe at Alabama.
“I think for Kalen DeBoer, looking at what he has. I think Jalen Milroe is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but if you look at what Kalen DeBoer did with Michael Penix for the two years he was in Washington, he transformed him from a different player from his time in Indiana,” Quinn said. “They threw the football all around the field. I don’t know that Jalen Milroe, out of the gate, will be able to do that this year. So, how do you go about constructing the offense to play to his strengths? That will be another one of his challenges.”
The skepticism comes after DeBoer decided to keep Milroe for the 2024 season. Earlier this year, Milroe explained why he decided to skip out on the transfer portal.
“I’ve got a lot of stuff at Alabama I still want to achieve,” Jalen Milroe said, per Jamie Hale of ABC3340 in Birmingham. “I signed my letter of intent to come to the University of Alabama. It’s all about staying here and building. The guys were have in locker room is a really good group. Super excited for what’s ahead for our football team. We’re excited to have Coach DeBoer in and the coaching staff that’s here.”
So far, so good for the DeBoer and Milroe pairing in Tuscaloosa. Alabama will get a tougher test next week when they take on South Florida.
