Newly minted Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer and his Crimson Tide are currently in the process of gearing up for Spring Football, which will culminate in the team's annual Spring Game, which is slated to take place on April 13 in Tuscaloosa. Of course, DeBoer was inserted as the new Alabama football head coach earlier this offseason following the shocking departure of legendary head coach Nick Saban, who established himself as perhaps one of the greatest college football coaches of all time during his tenure with the program.
Priority number one during spring practices is avoiding significant injuries, but it appears that the Crimson Tide may have a problem on their hands on that front, as it was recently revealed that wide receiver Jalen Hale had sustained a leg injury at practice this week.
Recently, DeBoer himself confirmed that the injury appears to be severe.
“An update on Jalen Hale, he did have a significant knee injury. He'll be down for the spring but there's some evaluation that will still take place to kind of figure out what that timeline will be as far as the rest of the year and so forth,” said DeBoer, per Joe Gaither of Sports Illustrated. Hale is a returning sophomore who apparently sustained the injury during practice on Tuesady.
A new-look Alabama squad
As previously mentioned, Kalen DeBoer took over in Tuscaloosa following the shocking retirement of his predecessor, the legendary Nick Saban, who has since hinted that the newly formed NIL rules which allow players to fully profit off of the value they bring was a key factor in his decision.
Meanwhile, DeBoer had just finished coaching his former team, the Washington Huskies, all the way to the National Championship game before abandoning them after receiving the call from the Crimson Tide brass. DeBoer inherits an Alabama team that will look a lot different this year than it did last year, when it was controversially selected to participate in the College Football playoff despite Florida State's better record and then predictably dismissed by Michigan–the same squad that defeated DeBoer's Washington squad–when they got there.
Jermaine Burton, who was one of Alabama's best receivers during the 2023 season but fizzled out in their playoff loss, has since taken his talents to the NFL Draft, while Isaiah Bond–who won the Crimson Tide their Iron Bowl game vs the Auburn Tigers with a miraculous last second catch from Jalen Milroe–left for Texas in the transfer portal.
DeBoer's talents will be tested immediately with his new team, as Alabama is set to participate in what will be a revamped SEC slate. Notable opponents for the Crimson Tide in 2023 include the Georgia Bulldogs, who Alabama defeated in the SEC Championship Game this year in what became the last win of Nick Saban's career, avenging his loss to Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs in the 2022 National Championship Game.
In any case, Alabama will need some of their younger receivers to step up depending on the severity of Hale's injury.
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