Everything Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama's 41-34 win over Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 4-ranked Alabama defeated No. 2 Georgia, 41-34, on Saturday at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. After his fourth win as the Crimson Tide’s head coach, Kalen DeBoer spoke to reporters. Below is everything DeBoer said following the win.

DeBoer’s opening statement…

“Heck of a game. Lost my voice a little bit there, obviously. A lot happening there, all game long. A lot of energy that was put out there by coaches and players and proud of the way we played. It took four quarters, and obviously there’s some times where they made a run there — in the second half, in particular. Just proud of the way our guys kept fighting, kept playing.

“I think we continued to learn every single play, and grow, and you see that at the end with ZB’s interception. Just guys saw it a couple times, throwing the ball up in the air and really just landed up there — maybe even sometimes under-throwing it — and just in great position. That one certainly looked different with how he was playing it. There’s reasons for that, but certainly how he was playing it, and in a position where he had a good enough of a chance to make a play on the ball as anyone. He did it.

“These guys are fun to coach every single day because they’re just wanting to get better. Highlighted Ryan, obviously, with the big play he had. The touchdown. Two Nos. 2 out there. Two freshmen. It was fun celebrating those guys in the locker room. Our team loves the way they work every day. Tip the cap to Georgia. They’re a heck of a football team. We pushed each other to the very end. Can’t say how proud I am of our guys. We talk about you get what you deserve, and these guys come to practice every single day. They’re in the weight room any opportunity where we’re asking them to do something, and they’re all over it. And they’re doing it to an extremely high level.

“We expect to win games, these games. Of course, the locker room is full of excitement. I also want to make sure that we understand that’s the expectation. There’s a lot of season left. I want to make sure we don’t blow all of our energy into this win, and make sure we can handle success, and get ready for next week.”

DeBoer on freshmen Ryan Williams, Zabien Brown…

“It says a lot. It says mentally that they’re well ahead of their time. They’ve played enough snaps now to where there’s a belief not only they have in themselves, but we all do. We see it in practice. They’re play-makers. They battle. They grind. They were tired. Played a lot of snaps, each of them. Lot of running. They’re true as far as what we ask and grinding four quarters, even ’til the very end. They earned that stripe down the middle of their helmet today, that’s for sure.”

DeBoer on Jalen Milroe…

“He was, I think, exceptional. I really — I didn’t want to jump the gun, but I just really felt like the last couple weeks — it starts with the Wisconsin game, where he got into a little bit of a rhythm. Made those plays. We still didn’t have enough opportunities, really. He threw 17 times or something like that. But you could see him taking that step from Week 2 to Week 3. The offensive line, I think, is doing a good job, for the most part, in really protecting him and he’s thinking about where he’s going to go with the ball. It doesn’t mean he’s perfect, but man, he’s a weapon out there. He’s doing it all through the air and with his feet. He’s tough to game plan against when you’re on the other side.

“When he needed to put the ball somewhere, I really felt like his accuracy — and that goes to his timing, the rhythm, the confidence, the belief he has in his receivers and whoever is catching the pass. And not everyone goes. Not everyone — there was a couple of times where we actually let him down. We let him down and didn’t have a couple guys run exactly what they were supposed to do. It looks kind of fuzzy, and you’re wondering what the heck is going on. It’s a credit, I felt like, just mentally. He stepped staying the course and he continues to grow in all ways, not just as a football player, but as a leader as well.”

DeBoer on throwing out of empty, adjusting through the game…

“We hit the one to Ryan in the third quarter. Made this kind of a circus catch. There was more of that. We’ve done it throughout the season, but there was certainly a heavier dose of that. I really felt when we went empty [backfield], Jalen did a good job of seeing the space, seeing the coverage, and that’s what I love. Because we have a lot of playmakers out there, and it’s just sometimes getting the ball in their hands. There’s adjustments going back and forth. They did a nice job with some things, and then we had to counter back, as well.

DeBoer on the emotional roller coaster of the game…

“When you face a really good football team, you know there’s going to be a strong push. That’s what I would expect from us, if we were ever in a spot. We’re going to fight until the very end. I expect our guys to go make plays. Sometimes when, in their situation really on their heels and really just throwing it up and, you know, kind of that urgency that they needed to have — and a couple plays go your way — those are the sparks, and that’s what happened. They did a nice job converting on some fourth downs.

“I think that was really the story in the second half, was those fourth-down calls, fourth-down plays. We gave them one or two of those, and really I think the game looks different in the second half. But yeah, those are the battles. We know that’s what each and every week is going to be. People are going to bring their best shot to us. And that’s the SEC. Getting proud of our guys and the way they kept responding. It wasn’t like, oh, the next play or the next drive was always perfect. But we did play team football and I thought covered for each other. Got some takeaways. Got a field goal, special teams did a nice job there. Of course, there were some let-downs and we all saw what those were, too.”

DeBoer on Kendrick Law…

“He’s just got a lower-body injury. It’s unfortunate because I thought he really had a great week of practice and kept building too. Put in a lot. I know he was really juiced up before the game. Thought he was doing some good things, as far as just helping our offense. It might not be things that show up on the stat sheet. So unfortunately he wasn’t able to be there with us through the whole game.”

DeBoer on his message to the team after winning, how it carries over…

“We talked about it Sunday. There were some games last week where our guys had a bye week and they watched a lot of football. We talked about how there’s some last-second plays and you’ve got to keep fighting and keep playing. The game, with our talent, is gonna keep coming back to us, even when it feels like it’s running away from us. That belief from tonight is something we will certainly make sure and be intentional on remembering. Because those are the things that are gonna happen again. We’re gonna have to do the same thing at some point throughout the season. You never know, it might be sooner than later. Guys being ready for when their opportunity comes. We’ve talked a lot about that during fall camp and reminded them before the game. I thought guys were ready when their opportunity came and went and made a play. That’s what we’re going to need.”

DeBoer on Milroe’s final touchdown throw to Williams…

“He put the ball where he needed to. And it’s one of the areas that I felt he really improved. He was — that throw, and the location of that throw, that was intentional. I really will say that strongly because that’s one of the areas that we worked on. You saw the first couple games where some of those fades were thrown, and that’s an improvement. That’s not just him. That’s the receivers also being on the same page with him. So it doesn’t always fall on Jalen’s lap with some of those plays we had early in the year. You saw Ryan catch the touchdown against Wisconsin. You saw a couple of those things starting to happen. He took a next step. Guys don’t always have to be wide open right now. You saw him throwing guys open, and the receivers anticipating that, hey, I’m going to get the ball. That’s progress in our passing game. We keep doing those things, and we’re gonna be really tough to defend.”

DeBoer on Ryan Williams…

“He’s involved and I still feel — I think we threw it to 10 or 11 different guys today. That’s gonna be the key is everyone still is involved, so that attention can’t just be solely on him. He’s a guy — those are some of the plays, some of the ones he’s had in the early part of the season, he’s very open. But there’s reasons why he’s also open. Just a subtle understanding of timing, and where the ball, what the concept was, where the ball was going to be thrown. But now you see some of the play-making that I know we saw during fall camp, where there are competitive catches, and that happened a couple times tonight.

“I think the thing that I’m probably more impressed with that I knew he was going to bring, but it’s what he’s doing after the catch, too. It’s not surprising, but it’s certainly impressive. But when you practice every day against each other and you have a couple scrimmages, you get a couple chances. But he’s doing it over and over again, getting the ball in his hands and making people miss. A lot of yards after catch and yards after contact. He’s a special player. The most impressive thing, also, with that is how he handles success. He’s gonna be back to work and be the same guy Tuesday. The same guy tomorrow when we show up and do our workouts. That’s what I think our team really sees in him. The upperclassmen I know have noticed that from Day 1.”

DeBoer on his conversation with Milroe before the final drive…

“Well, Jalen and I have talked a lot. This isn’t just this week, it’s been since Day 1 about never having regrets. And so competing until the very end. Really that’s what I want our team to do, but we talk about that a lot. Staying positive and keep fighting and sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way. That doesn’t mean you lose the game, but sometimes a play doesn’t end up the way you wanted. You got to keep fighting.

“When it comes to the concept, a lot of our plays have opportunities where you can … if you do find that 1-on-1, if you like the match-up, you go after it. He liked what he saw, obviously, and delivered. Ryan did the rest for him. A lot of our concepts have shots built-in, but also some other elements to the passing game where you’re looking to still have a high completion percentage. I think that’s the one thing that jumped out at me — 27-of-33 has got to be 80-plus percent. That’s what I love to see. If we can be over 65, that’s positive steps. He’s well above that.”

DeBoer on if tonight’s game silenced the doubters…

“That’s some stuff internally that we know in a match-up like this, there’s going to be people that believe one thing or another, and is this a mismatch at this position against that position? That LANK is from the team aspect, but it’s also, you know, a position group or an individual side of the ball. Our guys, I think, do a great job of just having that edge to them that comes along with that mentality. I’m proud of them, because they understand that edge but they keep the confidence and they don’t do it in an arrogant way. I appreciate the way they come to work. That’s what you can really see, that translates to the opportunities and wins like we had tonight.”

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