Everything Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama's fourth spring practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama held its fourth practice of the spring on Tuesday morning. After the Crimson Tide worked out in shells, second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke to local reporters inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility. Here’s everything he said.

DeBoer’s opening statement…

“It’s good to get back from spring break. I guess before I get into the team, exciting time, I know, for a lot of sports, but in particular, our men’s and women’s basketball teams. Just want to congratulate them on great seasons. I know we’re excited about what this weekend and the rest of the month holds for them. We’ll be rooting them on. Some great coaches, Coach Curry and Coach Oats, just doing a great job with their teams.

“Today, a good practice. Just a lot of work from beginning to end. Second day with shells on, and so you saw the physicality ramp up. Good energy coming off of spring break. I’ve seen times over the course of the years where there’s a lull. Didn’t feel like that was the case at all. Guys were ready to go. And I think having three practices before we took the break got their minds on football. I think that’s always a big deal. It just keeps them thinking about what they should be working on, focusing on, the priorities, and they come back ready to go.”

DeBoer on if there’s an apprehension about coming back from spring break…

“I guess my experiences – I’ve had times where we’ve taken up to two weeks off, and I got nervous about that one time and the guys coming back, and just like we did today, came back ready to go. It’s good. It’s gonna go really fast here because all of a sudden Practice 4 is over. We’re gonna get through the weekend, and by the end of next week, we’ll have a scrimmage next Thursday. It’s gonna happen pretty quickly, and when you get to that point, you’re almost half done with the whole 15 practices. But the guys were sharp. Again, beautiful weather out there. So how could you not enjoy the day that we had.”

DeBoer on the running backs, Dre’lyn Washington…

“It’s nice to see. We had just some health issues throughout the season last year. So I’m gonna be honest, there’s some times where I’m seeing things for the first time, too, with a few of them. We know what Jam can do. You all know, as well, and have seen a lot of them. He continues to just work, whether it’s in the weight room here in the offseason and then just a new quarterback and do his thing there. Most of the stuff is the same, but even a few little things that we’re doing differently just to fit him in the offense. Things that Coach Grubb brings. Things that we just want to continue to evolve as we know our personnel better, know what Jam does really well.

“But the rest of the guys, you brought up Dre. I think he’s a little combination of kind of all of the guys. Kevin’s probably our shiftiest, kind of explosive guy on the roster. Dre’s compact, much like maybe you’d see with Daniel and Rich, but got some shiftiness to him. I like his mindset. He just comes here ready to work. He knows he’s got a lot to learn and focused on what he can control.”

DeBoer on how he expects to make up production lost by QB runs…

“You kind of think, ‘Well, the runs Jalen had just translate over to running backs.’ But I think a lot of it was the style of offense, too. To me, those runs go to the running backs, but they also might be a few more pass attempts that you have that the play-action games gets opened up by more handoffs to the tailback. I see a lot of that kind of developing right now with the play-action game because there are more carries that the running backs have. The system is the same. The concepts are the same. It’s just what direction you call more plays when it comes to the style of runs, which are definitely tailback-oriented right now, for sure, than what we saw a year ago.”

DeBoer on Lotzeir Brooks, Derek Meadows…

“Derek, when you look at him out there, you can pick him out anywhere, right? He’s long and has a presence about him. I saw a one-on-one rep today that was really neat to see him use his body. Sometimes guys that are like that, they’ve got that presence, but they don’t use it. And he used it. Really got a long wingspan, so just get the ball in the vicinity, and he’ll come down with it.

“Lotzeir is really explosive. They’ve both got a lot to learn when it comes to just feeling comfortable in the offense, and when that happens, then being quarterback-friendly and being where you’re supposed to be, especially on time. But Lotzeir’s got some of those instincts. Sometimes it’s hard to find guys. It’s not hard to find him. And he can finish those plays. When a ball is in the air, he can get that little burst to get underneath of it. Those ones that are just off the fingertips, it seems like he’s finding a way to haul them in. Got that little extra juice and can make good outside-the-body type of catches. So really like what we see early on with those two guys.”

DeBoer on the coordinators overseeing both sides of the ball… 

“With the rules last year, we really had Chuck Morrell coaching the linebackers. We just didn’t make it publicly known until after the season. So Kane is kind of operating the same as he did last year. One thing I think he is doing more of is getting around. He really trusts Chuck Morrell in the linebacker room, and he’ll still have a presence there. A lot of the calls go through the linebackers, but he’s had a really good chance to get around to the defensive backs, the guys up front and I really like that. Make sure everyone’s on the same page, the same messages are coming across. 

“And then with Ryan, I think he’s still right now spending most of his time with the skill positions around the quarterbacks. He’s a believer, just like I am, that if you’re the play caller, definitely got to be locked on arms and in sync with your quarterback, so they’re still around each other a lot. Nick’s doing a great job coaching up the quarterbacks. Has that rapport with them, as you’d guess, from being around all year. I think there’ll come a point in time where Ryan can see kind of everything, too. So it’s really gone well here through the first couple weeks.” 

DeBoer on how much of a step forward the coaching staff can take…

“Continuity is huge, right? Continuity with your staff, because now you’re not teaching your staff new concepts and the techniques and the things that we want to do, or even just not even related to football, the logistical things, recruiting and all that we just keep moving forward. We evolve. We adjust based on what we we feel we need to areas, we need to grow. And so that continuity is really key. Even Jason Jones, he knows the defense. He was with Kane Wommack at Indiana so him sliding in was really easy. And that wasn’t the reason why we hired him, it just worked out that way. He was a great coach, first and foremost, and then that familiarity with our defense has just been a really smooth transition.

“So for us, the continuity is really key, because now we can take the next steps with all of our guys, and we know our personnel, and we’re not having to re-learn things. Ryan Grubb is really the only one that’s had to get up to speed and he’s poured into the film, watched all of our season I know more than once and understands what our guys are capable of.” 

DeBoer on Cole Adams, other fits for slot receiver role… 

“I think we have a number of things that we can we can do. Cole, first of all, easing into things. The slot is definitely his spot he feels the most comfortable. When I talk about quarterback-friendly, he’s that guy that is friendly with the quarterback, in the right place, a heady guy, gonna make the catches that are there for him, be consistent that way. Just working in, kind of building on what he did last fall before he got hurt.”

“One thing in the slot that bringing in like an Isaiah Horton and having more length on the outside now with Jalen Hale, too, has allowed Ryan to move around different spots. Between he and Germie Bernard, and really I think Isaiah could play maybe not the slot all the time, but these guys are very versatile. They kind of have their starting points but we can move around, and I think that is really what we like to do because we want to have a very unpredictable offense. And so certain guys in certain spots don’t carry over from week to week, and we can utilize their strength.”

DeBoer on if Lotzeir Brooks is a natural slot receiver…

“I would say that’s probably his starting point right there. You think right away, ‘get the ball to him and let him do his thing.’ But he’s really good down the field, too. Has really good body control, can win on defenders down the field, not just in the first couple yards and when he’s got the ball in his hands. So been really impressed with him.”

DeBoer on Alabama’s specialists…

“I’ve been pleased so far. I think Conor, last fall you could kind of see him continue to gain confidence. I think it was great that he got out there, whether it was just to kick off. That was an important role, and he did a really good job, I thought, most of the time, got better as the season went along. And I think that’s just carried over into being consistent, more consistent than I remember seeing, for sure, last spring, but also more consistent from last fall. He’s doing a good job of getting the ball up quick on the field goals, and I think just really in control. I really haven’t seen him have a bad kick. You’re not gonna be 100 percent, but it’s not like there’s just ones where, ‘Where’d that come from?’ So he’s doing a really good job there.

“And then there’s a number of guys working in with the long snapping. And then with Alex being hurt, we don’t have our full group of punters, but I like what I see there. Burnip’s gonna be really tough to replace. I don’t know if there’s another Burnip right now just because he’s different. He’s the best I’ve ever been around when it comes to punters. We were towards the top in the country for a reason. There’s schematic things, but there’s also just the guys kicking the football. So we’ve gotta continue to do a good job with our punting but also do a good job with just our coverage units and just execution there.”

DeBoer on which position Wilkin Formby will focus on…

“He’s been mostly at right tackle. It’s not a big deal, but he was sick for a couple days in there, so he missed a couple practices, allowed other guys to get some reps, which was really good, because we’re gonna need those guys, too. Some young bodies in there on the offensive line. But he was back out there today.

“I thought what stood out to me, the first practice in particular – I believe it was the first two, actually – is his leadership. I’m encouraging that out of him. He’s taking the next step and just being more aggressive that way, which I think then carries over to just confidence and play on the football field. But he’s out there making the calls with confidence. It starts with Parker, works its way out. And that right side now is kind of the veteran side with he and J-Rob and then Parker at center. So I like what he brings. He’s had a good offseason in the weight room.”

DeBoer on the left guard competition…

“A few different guys rotating. Geno has to take snaps at center along with playing guard. He’s versatile that way, and we’re gonna take advantage of that. So we want to have him be able to compete at the interior spots but also make sure we’ve got a center ready to go, too, there and a guy can take the reps with the twos with him. And then Dewberry has done a nice job. You can see him coming along every day, getting more and more comfortable. It takes time for those guys from communication on to trust and execution.

“And then a few different tackle bodies in there with Kadyn being out, too. It’s been a little bit of a by-committee type of situation there on the left side here through the first couple practices.”

DeBoer on Ryan Grubb being back…

“He’s motivated and determined, just like I always know he’s always been, to take our offense to the next level. And I think he has an appreciation for what we did installing and working through, but ready to keep evolving it like we would have hoped we would have done anyway. But just a few different wrinkles, few things that he’s even brought from his experiences last year that are, I think, gonna be really helpful to our offense and I’m excited about. 

“He’s just done a great job of just diving in with our staff. There were some prior relationships, obviously, with Nick and Shep. But really getting to know Bryan Ellis and Coach Kap, just bringing that group together and the chemistry there, which trickles down to your players, being really important. Obviously, he’s got some great play-calling experience, and you can feel that little edge that he brings and excited about that. There’s a reason why we brought him, and a very unique situation but one that I’m certainly with from many years of working with him.”

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