Kalen DeBoer shares importance of building depth in return

Kalen DeBoer isn’t overlooking any chance to make Alabama better. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide head coach emphasized the importance of building depth in Alabama’s return teams.

“There are a couple different ways you look at it,” DeBoer said. “You can go with the veterans. Being around Germie Bernard, as a returner, he’s done ’em both. You’re comfortable with him catching the ball. You’re comfortable with him making good decisions, especially when the ball is on a punt and the punt coverage team is flying down the field. He’s going to make those good decisions.

“But I really think we’re also trying to bring some young guys. Might be guys that are able to help us this year. Might even be guys out there Week 1. But really, what we want to do is always be developing players for the end of the season, and those moments where you hopefully have a few games where you don’t want to send your No. 1 guy out there, and you have enough trust in your No. 2.”

DeBoer has multiple options to anchor his return units in the upcoming season. Last season at Washington, Germie Bernard returned three punts and 10 kicks.

Alabama will not return either of its two primary punt returners from last season (Caleb Downs and Kool-Aid McKinstry). However, the program successfully retained Kendrick Law this offseason, who recorded a team-high 17 kick returns last season, averaging 23.8 yards per return.

No matter who ultimately fields the bulk of Alabama’s returns, DeBoer wants to instill confidence in players who will be at Alabama for years to come.

“A year from now, two years from now, you want to have guys that have caught so many balls back there that you don’t even flinch thinking about putting them in the game,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got (Jaylen) Mbakwe back there as a young guy, one of those guys I referred to. He’s been really consistent. Ryan (Williams) can do some things. We trust him catching the ball.

“K-Law could be back there, with the explosiveness he has, especially in the kick return but also the punt return. There are a few other we continue to work through. We try to keep it a bigger pool than we do try to narrow it down.”

The return game is one area that DeBoer could help Alabama significantly improve. In the 2023 campaign, Alabama averaged 22.2 yards per kick return, ranking No. 29 in the country. The Crimson Tide’s punt return game was worse, falling at No. 65 nationally.

Alabama will kick off its upcoming season with a showdown against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.