Everything Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama's second ReliaQuest Bowl practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama was back on the practice field Wednesday as it continued its preparation for a ReliaQuest Bowl matchup with Michigan. After the practice session ended, head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke to local reporters. Below is everything that DeBoer said. 

DeBoer’s opening statement…

“Just had a couple days off over the weekend. The guys finished finals. A bunch of them graduated, which was really cool celebrating that. I know we had some families in town, too. So getting back to work now the next five days, including today, a real strong emphasis on Michigan and the bowl game, of course. So excited for that. There will be a two-day period there, Christmas included, where they get a chance to get back home real quick, and then the 26th, we’ll be back at it and heading down after our practice down to Tampa.”

DeBoer on Malachi Moore…

“One thing with the bowl game: Malachi Moore, he’s been going through an injury pretty much a lot of the season, and it just got to the point where he wasn’t gonna be able to play. So just kind of putting that out there. He’s having surgery actually today. He wanted to do everything he could to get out there. He was trying to wait it out to see if it could possibly be something he’s able to participate in. Probably the biggest thing I’ll say is he just grinded through the year with it. It’s not something recent. It’s something that’s been ongoing and maybe some of you kind of saw or felt something like that.

“But just hats off to how much he loves this place, how bad he wanted to be out there on the field each and every Saturday and even how bad he wanted to be out there with these guys and finish it off and his career for the bowl game. So, unfortunately, we’re not gonna have him, but love that kid to death. He’s got a bright future in everything he does. He just poured a lot into this place, a lot of passion, a lot of want-to, a lot of desire, a lot of things I know the rest of our team took from him along the way.”

DeBoer on transfer DL Kelby Collins…

“Versatility. Just a guy that can come in and do a lot of different things. Just adds to a group that has good numbers, good competition. But he’s got his kind of niche, too. Outside, inside, can do a little bit of both. Help add to what we want to be better at, getting to the quarterback in different ways.”

DeBoer on the last 24 hours with Jaylen Mbakwe…

“His conversation with me was that he wanted to come back. That’s not that complicated. First of all, the kid loves this place, and he’s a great teammates, works extremely hard. Obviously, we see what he is on the field. He’s extremely versatile. We see him play defense. We see him do the things with the ball in his hands in a punt returner situation. I think some guys, just as they go through it, realize really what they want. We just are in the world right now where that’s what it is. Man, we’re excited that he wanted to be here with us and back out there going to work today.”

DeBoer on integrating early enrollees…

“We have a few here already that are with us, that were out there today. It’s exciting to see them and get a feel for them before we get into the offseason. I know it’s a great time for them, too. They’re fired up to be here. So we’re incorporating them as they come in, and it’s not just a, they’re all here one day. Just depending on their end of it usually, is when we’ll incorporate them being a part of our team. So it’s exciting to have them here, learning a few things maybe that will carry over to when we hit the field next spring.”

DeBoer on possibly using Mbakwe on offense in the bowl game…

“We certainly are short there at wide receiver with injuries and some guys that entered the portal. So yeah, it’s always been that we’ve been open to what he can bring to the table. I think as a freshman coming in, you’re really trying to focus on doing one thing well. But this is certainly a time where we can look into that and figure that out.

“He’s, again, super talented. I think the one thing that sticks out with me — when you talk about punt retuner — a lot of guys, especially defensive guys, I know for me, the trust of putting the ball in their hands on a punt return, which is a lot of people running at you, making people miss, a lot of people converging on you all at once. Never really have felt concerned about his ball security, right? Let’s all knock on wood together on that one (laughs). But he’s just got that trust factor that you have with him, and it goes back to his high school days. So you’re always looking at guys that can help you on the football field one way or another.”

DeBoer on his experience with the transfer portal over the last 10 days…

“It’s just day-to-day. It’s just the world we live in. Obviously, practice is even different, just with less guys and depth at some places like normal and other places where you gotta mix and match groups. It’s the world we’re in. You gotta adjust and the relationships — I’ve heard, ‘you’ve gotta re-recruit your team,’ and things like that. To me, you’re recruiting your team all year long, and you’re doing it through building relationships. And so you get to this point, there’s conversations. Shoot, I have nothing but respect and wish the best to the guys that are moving on. When I say that I love being around our kids and that they gave us everything they had, I really mean that.

“And I know part of my philosophy is I want the place I’m at here to always be the place that they have a great experience. But not every place is a perfect fit for everyone, and once you get there sometimes you realize that. So you just gotta keep rolling with it. I appreciate our staff for just staying the course, having built those relationships along with myself, and we go deep on that. Not just the position coaches but all coaches, and even off-the-field staff, have really done a good job to where I feel good about who we have here, and we’re focused on them and looking forward to finishing out the next 13 days or so with the group we have and then turning around and building the roster for next year.”

DeBoer on managing wide receiver depth for the bowl game…

“There’s four scholarship guys. In practice, there’s more guys that can be involved, and we just gotta keep bringing more guys along with understanding the offense on a level to where they can step on the football field and help us if needed.”

DeBoer on Danny Lewis’ role after withdrawing from the portal…

“We graduated a lot of snaps at tight end with CJ (Dippre) and Robbie (Ouzts). So the opportunities are really strong here for the tight end position and he certainly, being an upper-classman, I think he understood that and kind of processed that a little bit more and that was part of the reason, actually, the reason why I think he decided to come back. He’s got a skillset, I think, when you take the size also added into it, some range. We just gotta keep developing it. And I do feel like that if there’s 10 or 15 kids that have really developed and come a long, long way since the first day we stepped on the field this spring, he’d certainly be one of them. So more reps is gonna be something that just helps him become a better football player. So he’s pouring into that right now.”

DeBoer on Richard Young’s impact after portal departure…

“Rich will be ready to go just like he always is. He’s a strong running back, does a lot of things. We’ll be excited to have all of those guys be incorporated into the game plan. Everyone else just, when they have someone leave at their position, more opportunities that you can take advantage of. So yeah, certainly excited to have Rich highlighted more with more opportunities in practice and games to show everyone what he can do.”

DeBoer on safeties who have stepped up with Moore out…

“It’ll be kind of mix and match. This literally kind of here in the last — it’s not like we’ve had a week or two to think this through and work through it. But it’ll be young guys. There’s been some moving pieces that I can expand on more probably as we talk here in the week ahead. We moved (Zay) Mincey, is probably someone you’re not thinking about much, but a guy that has been moved to safety going back to midseason, and I think he’s gonna be a guy down the road that is someone who we’ll be counting on. He’s getting more opportunities to get those reps out there. I could go on. There’s more guys, as well. So exactly who that will be and how that will play out, we’re gonna work through that here in the next week or two.”

DeBoer on how Moore, Keon Sabb’s leadership helped prepare younger players…

“It’s been huge. Malachi in that room, just the demeanor and the fight, the grit that he’s played with, I know has spread through the rest of the room because the DB position as a whole was extremely young. You had these upper guys that you’re talking about, these older guys, and then you had a lot of younger guys. So together they’ve really understood they need each other. One, to learn from the older guys, and the other one is to have success on the field. Keon’s out here today, just out there trying to mentor. He’s anxious to come back and us have a really good season next year when he’s a part of it again on the field. So he’s doing everything he can to coach these guys up and take advantage of every minute we have here in the 2024 season.”

DeBoer on the leadership and team response in practice…

“It’s extremely strong. I can’t say enough of guys — whether they’re captains, unity council, guys who are seniors and this is it, to guys that are probably leaning towards the NFL. It says a lot about all of them wanting to come out and finish off strong. I think it goes back to them sticking it out and being the ones that stayed the course and believed in this place in the beginning back in January, and now, them knowing they need to finish what they started this season. That’s a commitment you make when you’re part of the football team here.”

DeBoer on if Jaeden Roberts is benefiting from time off…

“It’s definitely something that’s gonna help him. A few weeks is better than nothing. And so yeah, you’re out there toda, not as noticeable, I guess. He’s bouncing around. He looked certainly better, and I think a lot of that will be a full offseason to help him get really completely over the hump. But yeah, he’s out there doing his thing, and you’re never gonna question the guy’s effort, I can tell you that. His want-to and his desire.”

DeBoer on the growth he’s seen from Austin Mack…

“He’s one of the hardest workers on the team. There’s a lot of guys that pour a lot into it. He’s doing stuff on his own pretty much every day. You pick an early-morning time when we don’t have a practice, he’s doing something in some facility in here. You bounce around and all of a sudden, you hear a ball being thrown and hear someone moving, he’s one of those guys. He’s a gym rat Reps, I’ve said it a lot of different times in a lot of different ways, whether it’s staff and our reps or players’ reps, really help you gain confidence because the preparation leads to that.

“So he’s really come a long way. It’s fun seeing him take advantage of even the scout-team reps and just his ability to throw the ball where he wants it. Sometimes that’s a great opportunity because if you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. But you can keep honing in on your skills. He did a lot this year to help those guys with the defense, and now, he’s getting more and more reps. So I’m excited about his future, for sure.”

DeBoer on how he feels about the calendar — portal running into bowl prep…

“I think you always continue to try to tweak, and that’s our obligation to try to continue to communicate as coaches in this profession to try to make it better. I don’t know what the perfect answer is because you think about the semester starting for next year, but there’s now playoff games going on and there’s bowl prep and what’s the level of those bowls that are being played with less guys a part of it? So I think there’s always — whether they’re unintended, maybe you know what those consequences are gonna be when you change something — but there’s always more other things that come a long with it.

“So I know it’s a topic. Certainly, us coaches in different circles continue to talk about and try to come up with some answers or better solutions, but it’s certainly a lot to handle. But we got a staff that I feel really has experience, works together well, and so in the midst of it, I feel like we’re handling it about as well as we possibly can when you’re talking about a high school class, your own roster, some additions that you’re looking to bring in while getting ready for another game. So it’s what we’re here to do. It’s part of our job. So don’t really feel overwhelmed by it in any way. You just take each day and pour into it every way you can.”

DeBoer on how much he’s involved in the portal recruiting during bowl prep…

“It’s certainly a team effort across the board. There’s a role everyone plays, and every guy, every situation is different, of course. You think it’s your position coach and coordinator; it’s sometimes someone who the other side of the ball recruited three years ago. So every situation is different. It’s gotta be a team effort, on-field staff, off-the-field staff. It’s all hands on deck always, and that’s how it’s gonna be whether it’s the portal or recruiting high school prospects.”

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