Kalen DeBoer not anticipating heavy opt-outs in Alabama's bowl game

Alabama was on the disappointing end of the College Football Playoff selection show this morning as the committee chose to leave the Crimson Tide out of the 12-team field in favor of ACC runner-up SMU for the final spot.

With Alabama missing the field, the Crimson Tide will play in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa on New Year’s Eve, matching up with Michigan. Non-CFP bowl games in the past decade have become littered with opt-outs, as players have continually chosen to prepare for the NFL Draft rather than risk injury in a ‘meaningless’ bowl game.

When asked about the state of his team in relation to potential opt-outs in the upcoming bowl, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said he isn’t anticipating many, if any at all.

“What I feel right now, and I’m not saying there won’t be one, but I feel like right now we’re in a place where most of those guys are planning on playing,” DeBoer said. “I don’t care what round they’re planning on going in. And you know, we’ll see. But that’s my early understanding.”

DeBoer went on about the commitment level the current players have to this team, citing the Alabama programs streak of 10-win seasons as another reason some players may want to play in this season’s final game.

“Having talked with a few guys, these guys are committed to this place,” DeBoer said. “There’s been a streak of 10-win seasons, and they’ve got a lot of pride in this program and want to continue to move it forward, want to play and spend one more game with their brothers on this football team. Again, we’re in a good spot.”

DeBoer was specifically asked about quarterback Jalen Milroe and offensive lineman Tyler Booker, two captains who were named the MVPs of the team at its award banquet tonight and both of whom may have favorable enough draft grades to warrant sitting out of the bowl.

Choosing to let those two players announce their specific decisions themselves, DeBoer continued to emphasize that he feels good about the place this team is at on the opt-out front.

“I feel it’s very positive. I’ll let those guys make their announcements, talk to the team. We’ll have a team meeting tomorrow, opportunities here throughout the week. That meeting was scheduled no matter what the case was,” DeBoer said. “I’ll let those guys talk, but it’s positive for those guys, it’s positive for others too. I feel like we’re in a good space with what these guys are trying to accomplish, whether it be seniors, the guys who are using their eligibility, or the guys who are trying to figure out their course of action related to potentially going to the NFL Draft.”

Alabama last missed the playoff two seasons ago in 2022, and saw many high-profile NFL Draft prospects choose to play in the game. Of those included Bryce Young and Will Anderson, the No. 1 and No. 3 picks in that following draft, as well as a number of other touted prospects.

The coming days will make Alabama’s roster situation much clearer as players announce their intentions to either play in or opt-out of the ReliaQuest Bowl.

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