Kalen DeBoer reveals his take on roster size in college football

Proposals to put caps on college football roster spots have made the rounds this offseason, and many have voiced their opinions for and against the idea in the weeks since the news made rounds on social media.

In the case of new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, his perspective is based on experience coaching at every level of college football.

“When I think back over the years — and I’ve been at a lot of different levels when it comes to putting a team together — the crazy thing is people always look and say, ‘Only 11 are on the field at a time,'” DeBoer said at the SEC spring meetings. “But there’s a lot that goes into development, there’s a lot that goes into putting together a practice that [makes it] efficient. There’s a health and safety piece, for sure, that comes into play when it comes to roster size.”

When DeBoer was moving through the coaching ranks, schools had around 100 players on a roster each season but saw that number inflate to about 135 on occasion. The Crimson Tide headman believes that’s right around the perfect size to manage a roster throughout a season.

Currently, the NCAA allows 70 athletes to appear for each team in any given football game. With only 85 scholarship spots allowed for each FBS college football program, the number of walk-ons could shrink if the new proposal is eventually enforced.

“I think there are other pieces too, especially in the latter years here,” DeBoer continued. “Having legacy players, those that maybe are walk-ons that come onto your program and grow into being a scholarship player. There are a lot of variables that come into play.

“So first and foremost, it comes to health and safety and efficiency and have a successful practice that I think you want to execute each and every day. That’s important with the number that’s on your roster. So we’ve operated with 110, back about four or five years ago. 120 last year, and we’ll have few more than that with the way and direction we’re at with Alabama this fall.”

DeBoer has worked diligently on preparing a roster fit for the standard former head coach Nick Saban set in Tuscaloosa for nearly two decades. Crimson Tide fans will get the chance to see that first-hand when Alabama kicks off the 2024 regular season against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31.