Everything Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama's 63-0 win over WKU
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 5 Alabama defeated Western Kentucky, 63-0, on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. After his first win as the Crimson Tide’s coach, Kalen DeBoer spoke to reporters. Below is everything DeBoer said following the convincing Week 1 victory.
DeBoer’s opening statement…
“Good to get a W to start the year. I told the guys downstairs, every win is something that they’ve worked hard for and make sure we enjoy and go back to work. Got a lot of things that we now have on film that we know we can correct and understand the things that we’re really good at and the things that we need to continue to work on. Proud of the way they came out. Started fast, both sides of the ball. Feeding off each other. I thought the energy was great, just sustained it all game long and got a lot of guys a chance to play.”
DeBoer on Ryan Williams…
“He’s got that big-play capability, as you saw. He’s done a lot of that in practice. Was excited to see him get out there, and a big third down by the sideline, a great read by Jalen with the coverage he was getting. We anticipated a possible route down the sideline in a situation like that, and it was really cool to see those guys execute and Ryan just hauling the ball and finish. And coming across the middle on the second touchdown, he was just really focused, and it just doesn’t seem like the game’s too fast for him.
“It’s impressive that a guy his age can go out there and do the things he’s doing. Obviously, we’ve talked a lot about him. He’s got a bright future and really fun to see him go out there and make those plays that he did tonight. The guys believe in him. I think one of the cool things about Ryan is he’s gone about – a lot of attention gets thrown his way – but he’s just gone about it and really humble and matter of fact, stay the course of just go to work every day attitude. And our guys really appreciate that, and I think they’re just as excited as he is for him with the plays that he made today.”
DeBoer on Kadyn Proctor’s status…
“Unfortunately, yeah, he did. Just caught me by surprise, obviously. He couldn’t go tonight. We’ll continue to evaluate tomorrow just to see the severity of it. We’ll kind of know more here as the week goes on.”
DeBoer on Zabien Brown, Daniel Hill and other freshmen…
“It’s really exciting. It gives you a lot of promise for what’s to come. The thing about those guys is they’re just going to gain more and more confidence with everything that they do. And those reps tonight, they all matter. And I tell the guys that every rep, we’re going to keep getting better as a team. But there are certain guys, like the ones you mentioned, Daniel and Ryan, many others, Zabien, that just went out there and just didn’t seem like the lights were too bright for them, and that’s really cool. One day at a time, they’re just going to keep getting better, and they’re going to be great players for us in the long haul.”
DeBoer on if he likes the explosiveness of the offense or wants more sustained drives…
“Both. But how can you argue, right? There’s things that weren’t perfect, but we made up for. So now what you want to look at is those plays that didn’t go as well and really dial in on some of the mistakes – a penalty here, penalty there. We had a communication (error). I think we didn’t snap the ball. I think maybe Parker was trying to signal something and get the line locked in. And that’s just a quarterback-center kind of being on the same page. And then all of a sudden it was time to snap the ball when Jalen clapped. So just things like that that we can continue to get better at.
“But when we had the opportunity to make plays, I’m never going to be disappointed that we’re finding ways to have explosives. That’s a big part of what our offense is about. We preach it, we practice it. And that was fun to see. I didn’t really realize it until I looked at the time of possession, maybe in the first half there a little bit. Our defense, you saw the one drive, especially, they were on the field quite a while, that just kind of added to it. But I’m never going to argue, though, when we have those big plays, those touchdowns that we had.”
DeBoer on Elijah Pritchett and Keon Sabb…
“Pritchett, really, as you said he … has taken pretty much all his reps at the right tackle spot. I think we really went back to what he did this spring, playing left tackle, and it was something I know gave me confidence and I’m sure it gave him. He and Booker took all those reps all spring long for 15 practices. And so I think they just really honed back in on that. I’ll watch the film, but obviously, there was a lot of good things that happened out there, and you don’t do that without great offensive line play. So excited about the way he responded all of a sudden in the moment and getting thrown into that position and really just being steady.
“Keon Sabb, just a guy that was in the right spot at the right time and made the plays. That’s what it’s all about. A lot of guys will be where they need to be and all that, but a little special play here and there, maybe it goes through their hands. Keon, you can just see, he was ready for that moment. He pounced when the opportunity came and made some really big, big plays and got our offense in some great field position there early in the game.”
DeBoer on his first game at Alabama…
“It was a lot of fun. The Walk of Champions, I think, was special for a lot of our players. It’s always gonna be that way, and I can’t thank our fans enough. You can just feel the energy even before. You’re not even here around the stadium or knowing what’s going on, but you can just feel the buzz. That was a lot of fun. The new guys, I think, especially enjoyed it. The older guys, just knowing what it’s all about and being in that stadium. We did a great job of giving them something to cheer for, and our fans were amazing. Cheering and being loud. I can’t wait to do it again a week from now.”
DeBoer on the helmet communication issues early in the game…
“Actually, so it wasn’t the in-helmet communication, it was actually that their headsets went down and the rules state that when the opponent’s headsets go down, you have to take yours down too. And so I’m sure you guys figured it out, but Nick Sheridan, play caller up in the booth, actually had to come down. And so a little time to get him down there. And that’s not something that they’re going to plan for and let you do, but we were able to hustle him down. Then, of course, trying to get him back up there. And then their’s went down a second time, and so it was kind of a back and forth. I thought our staff did a great job, because that’s something you don’t practice. In all my years, I’ve never had it happen to where we had to put our headphones down because of someone else’s. So maybe it happens more often than I understand and we should practice it, but that’s that was a new one for me.
“I think also the other one that was new for me was, I think maybe by the third play in the game, or one of the early plays, we had two helmets come off of two of our linemen at the same the same play. And so we all of a sudden, we had a different center, left guard and left tackle from what we’ve practiced all along. So kids did a great job of just adjusting to the adversity, not getting too shaken and just continue to play. And the next guys were ready to go. So I thought our staff – I think there’s some little things. We had a substitution error. We got 12 guys on the field one time defensively. Those are certain things we’ll talk about tomorrow, besides breaking down the film and coaching our guys up fundamentally and then schematically.”
DeBoer on the benefit of rotating so many players on defense…
“It’s huge, it’s huge. And I’m really glad that we got that opportunity. And of course, that’s part of what we want to do anyway – keeping guys fresh, being able to sustain a high level for four quarters and not just dying off. But getting a lot of young guys, you see Mbakwe and Red are out there a lot, and so just they’re right in the rotation and felt good about them being out there. Sometimes when there’s guys you don’t trust or anything, your eyes kind of get drawn to them, just to make sure that you feel they feel good and they look confident, and that’s not even the case. I don’t even feel like I gotta worry about whether they’re ready to go or not.
“So the secondary, I just thought, for the most part, they really didn’t have big mistakes where all of a sudden someone’s running free through the secondary and we just dropped a zone or dropped a man that we’re supposed to be covering. Always things that we can get better at – situational ball, some crossers and things like that that I saw in the second half there that maybe that we can get better at covering. But for the most part, I thought they did a good job.”
DeBoer on Jihaad Campbell and Deontae Lawson playing off each other…
“Just having some guys with a lot of confidence in themselves and guys that we have confidence in, they’re just staples. They’re just guys you trust. And they’re hard-nosed. They both can move, can run really well. They’re physical and very smart. A lot of the communication, especially with Coach Wommack to Deontae, Deontae can handle what he’s supposed to do, and if there’s someone we need to have just slightly move, he can make that happen and still havean understanding of what’s going on from him from the offense. So just all those areas are so critical when it’s the middle of your defense. Again, looking forward to watching the film, but just everything I saw seemed like they had a great game.”
DeBoer on Alabama’s defense sustaining to hold on for the shutout…
“I like the never say die, kind of just to dig in when they had their backs to the wall on some drives that were coming down the field. One was after a turnover on the offense. Just looking at that as opportunity to make a statement, to just let everyone know that they got that mindset that they’re going to play together. And it was really cool to see them get the shutout. I was happy for them, happy for Kane. They’re all just flying around. There was some times we maybe missed a tackle, but there was guys right there to follow up and and go make that play, and as we said, the two interceptions early in the game really set the tone with Keon, both with field position and just momentum and energy.”
DeBoer on if there is a relief with Game 1 going so well…
“I think there’s a little bit of fun there at the very end and just seeing a lot of the young guys, too, get out there on the football field and have some fun of their own and experience it for the first time. But I told the guys in the locker room, none of these points carry over to next week. There’s film out there, and of course, there’s strengths we have, but people are gonna look at the areas that they can attack and we’ve gotta continue to just understand that there’s a lot of potential with this football, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. It’s gonna be that way all season long.
“I think that what I saw in the locker room downstairs, whether it was the beginning of the game, the middle of the game when we had the score very much in our favor, these guys have a determination and a relentlessness about them where they wanna be great. They just don’t wanna go out there and do their thing for a half and kind of just let the score kind of die off and kind of let someone hang around. They wanted the shutout, they wanted to put more points on the board and I just love their mindset.”
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