Kalen DeBoer faced a brutal test in his first year, and saying he didn’t pass would be a partial judgment. He did, to some extent, but not quite with great grades. But it was not a bombshell coming out of nowhere. DeBoer knew what he was signing up for while jetting off to Tuscaloosa from Washington, and replacing a certified GOAT (Nick Saban) wouldn’t be an easy task. But DeBoer didn’t back off. He came, he sweated, he went all in; he tried to make a bond with the players grieving over their favorite coach’s departure in the locker room. But at the end of the day, he left pretty much empty-handed. Bama finished with a lackluster 9-4 record. Can DeBoer’s second year fix the slump?
Well, DeBoer has settled a bit. He has added a handful of players to the portal. Jack Sammarco and Brody Dalton were the latest additions in the spring portal, bringing more flair to the TE room. Also, they didn’t even lose a single scholarship player on the portal. After filling in the huge exodus after Saban’s step down, DeBoer finally found his footing on the roster map. No other teams in the SEC passed the volatile spring window test, but Bama nailed it with flying colours.
But when it comes to the sheer SEC competition, they might lack some depth. On3’s J.D. PicKell seconded, saying, “I really, really feel that way about Kalen DeBoer and that offense.” Even ESPN’s Aaron Murray chimed in, “Yeah, no, no listen. I’m hoping so, you know, DeBoer was put in a very difficult situation, a year ago. There’s no doubt about that. Taking over from Nick Saban, and you know, I still believe that he is a good enough coach to get that roster, which is elite, to be competitive, but like, listen, they’re kind of borderline. And there are a lot of teams in the SEC right now that are pretty dang good.
DeBoer will head to 2025 with a chip on his shoulder already. But the teams he will face are very much aware of his weak points in terms of adapting to the Alabama culture. Teams like Florida State, Wisconsin, Georgia, and South Carolina can really leave him on the edge of his seat. The reigning SEC champs could be the toughest to deal with on September 27. The Bulldogs have their roster in place, adding receivers Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch. If Gunner Stockton can deliver, they can be a real beast.
”Fortunately, for them, the new rules aren’t there yet, where you know if you do go nine and three, there’s still a possibility that you can make it into the playoffs,” PicKell added. “Maybe next year they could. But I still don’t know if I see a roster of enough elite playmakers on offense to still have the feeling of this is a team that’s just going to dominate everyone.”
It will be a daunting test of Kalen DeBoer as well as for Ty Simpson, the seasoned veteran under the center.
Can Ty Simpson be the guy for Kalen DeBoer?
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