Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer used its blowout win over UL-Monroe to play not one, but two quarterbacks off the bench, and that could be something Crimson Tide fans could see more of.
Following Alabama's decisive Week 1 upset loss to Florida State, DeBoer said he and his staff, whose jobs were often being called for by fans, sat down and spoke to the quarterbacks about the need for continued competition heading into Week 2.
“We just felt after Week 1 and just how the game went, we preach competition across the board at all positions,” DeBoer said, via al.com's Nick Kelly. “It was a decision earlier in the week because we had the conversation with the quarterbacks that Monday.
“It certainly raised their level. It was something that was seen in how they executed with the completion percentage the one thing, but I thought they were really sharp and really crisp in everything they did from the body language to the play calling to the execution to making the throws they needed to make to help us be successful.”
When asked directly if that changed his thinking about if a quarterback playing well could blunt that initiative, DeBoer seemed to sidestep it and focused on praising starting QB Ty Simpson.
While Simpson has been far from the issue for Alabama so far this season — in fact, he played just about perfectly against UL-Monroe — neither he nor the Crimson Tide are in a position to feel comfortable.
Following the loss to FSU, many fans called for the firing of DeBoer, who is in his second year in Tuscaloosa and has a 10-5 record with Alabama. Although DeBoer lasted the first two weeks, much of the rest of the schedule could complicate his employment status the rest of the calendar year.
Alabama hosts Wisconsin this weekend in a game the Tide are currently favored by about three touchdowns. Then, the fun — or pain — begins.
After a bye week, Alabama opens SEC play in Athens against Georgia, which lost to DeBoer's 2024 Tide. ‘Bama then hosts Vanderbilt in what should be a highly anticipated rematch of last year's historic Vandy upset in Nashville.
Wisconsin and Alabama will kick off this Saturday at approximately noon ET.
