Everything Alabama Football's Kalen DeBoer Said Ahead of ReliaQuest Bowl

The Crimson Tide head coach spent time with the media after practice as Alabama prepares to play Michigan.

Nov 16, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer watches warmups prior to a game against Mercer Bears at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images / Will McLelland-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide is preparing to play Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa at the end of the month. Head coach Kalen DeBoer spent time with the media after Wednesday's practice to talk about the transfer portal, the bowl game and more.

Here's everything he had to say:

Full Transcript

Opening Statement:

"Yeah, it's good to be back out there with the guys today, beautiful weather, man, awesome out there. 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 had some families in town too. So getting back to work now the next five days, including today. Real strong emphasis on Michigan and the bowl game of course. Excited for that to 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 to Tampa.

"One thing just with the bowl game, Malachi Moore, he's been going through an injury pretty much for a lot of the season and it just got to the point where he wasn't going to be able to play [against Michigan]. He's actually having surgery today. He wanted to do everything he could to get out there, was trying to wait it out to possibly be something he's able to participate in. Probably the biggest thing I'll say is that he just grinded through the year with it. It's not something that's been recent, it's been ongoing. Maybe some of ya'll kind of saw or felt something like that.

"Hats off to how much he loves this place, how bad he wanted to be out on the field each and every Saturday and how bad he wanted to be out there with these guys and finish off his career for the bowl game. Unfortunate, that we're not going to have him. Love that kid to death and he has a bright future in everything he does. He brought a lot of passion, want-to, desire and a lot of things the rest of our team took from him and learned along the way."

What stands out about Kelby Collins?

"Versatility. Just a guy that can come in and do a lot of different things, just adds to a group that I think has good numbers, has good competition but he's got his 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."

What were the 24 hours like with Jaylen Mbakwe and his future?

"Yeah, his conversations with me were that he wanted to come back. Really, it's not that complicated, first of all the kid loves this place, he's a great teammate, works extremely hard. Obviously, we see what he does on the field. He's extremely versatile. We see him play defense. We see him do the thing with the ball in his hands in a punt returner situation. Some guys, as they go through it realize really what they want. We are in a world right now where that's what it is. We're excited that he wanted to be here with us and back out there going to work today."

What's the approach to integrating early enrollees into practice?

"Yeah, 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 and so I know it's a great time for them too, they're fired up to be here. So, yeah, we're incorporating them as they come in and it's not just they're all here one day, just depending on their end usually is when we'll incorporate them being a part of our team. It's exciting to have them here learning a few things, maybe that will carry over to when we hit the field next spring."

Is there any thought to playing Jaylen Mbakwe at receiver with limited numbers?

"Yeah, we certainly are short there at wide receiver with injuries and some guys that have entered the portal. So yeah, it's always been that way. We've been open to what he can bring to the table, I think as a freshman coming in here you're really trying to focus on doing one thing well, but you know, this is certainly a time where you can look into figuring that out. He's, again, super talented. I think the one thing that sticks out to me, with I'll talk about punt returner, you referenced that and I did too, a lot of guys, especially defensive guys, I know for me, the trust of putting the ball in their hands on the 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. He's just got that trust factor that you have with him and it goes back to his high school days and you're always looking at guys that can help you on the football field one way or the other."

What's this experience been like managing the transfer portal over the last 10 days?

"Yeah, it's just day to day. It's the world we live in. You know, obviously, practice is even different, just with less guys. Depth at some places like normal and other places where you've got to mix and match groups. It's just the world we're in, you've just got to adjust and the relationships, I've heard 'You've got to rerecruit your team' and things like that. To me, you're recruiting your team all year long and you're through building relationships and so you get to this point and there's conversations. Shoot, I have nothing but respect and wish the best to the guys that are moving on. When I say 'I loved being around our kids and they gave us everything they had' I really mean that. You want, 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. You've just got to keep rolling with it and I appreciate our staff for just staying the course, having built those relationships, along with myself. 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 thirteen days or so and with the group we have and turning around and building the roster for next year."

Any concern over signals or philosophy conflict with defensive lineman Damon Payne seemingly transfering to Michigan?

"I think you're always thinking about that. I mean, that happens a lot, whether it's coaches or players, but we'll certainly take that into consideration."

Do you expect to only have four wide receivers for the bowl game, how has that made practice a challenge?

"There's four scholarship guys. In practice there's more guys that can be involved. We've got to keep bringing more guys along with understanding the offense on a level to where they can step onto the football field and help us if needed."

How have you seen Danny Lewis grow and what does it mean to get him back from the portal?

"We graduated a lot of snaps at tight end with CJ [Dippre] and Robbie [Ouzts] so the opportunity is really strong here for the tight end position. He, certainly being an upperclassman, I think he understood that and processed that a little bit more and part of the reason, actually I think the reason he decided to come back. He's got a skillset, when you take the size added into it, some range. We've just got to keep developing it. I do feel like there's probably 10 or 15 kids that have really developed and come a long way since the first day we stepped on the field this spring and he'd certainly be one of them. More reps is going to be something that helps him become a better football player and he's pouring into that right now."

What're your thoughts on Richard Young's impact on the offense?

"Yeah Richard 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. Certainly excited to have Richard highlighted more with more opportunities at practice and games to show everyone what he can do."

Who's stepped up with Malachi Moore out?

"Yeah, it'll be kind of mix and match. This literally kind of here in the last, not like we've had a week or two to think this through and work through it, but it'll be the young guys. There's been some moving pieces that I can expand on more as we talk in the week ahead. We've moved Zavier Mincey is someone probably you're not thinking about much, but is a guy that has been moved to safety going back to mid season. I think he's going to be a guy down the road as someone we're counting on. He's getting more opportunities to get those reps out there. There's more guys as well, exactly who that will be and how that will play out, we've got to work through that in the next week or two."

How have Malachi Moore and Keon Sabb prepared the others in their absence?

"Yeah it's been huge, Malachi in that room, just the demeanor, the fight, the grit that he's played with, I know has spread through the rest of the room. The DB position 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. Together they've really understood that they need each other, one to learn from the older guys and the other to have success out there on the field. Keon's out there 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 on the field. He's doing everything he can to coach these guys up and take advantage of what we have here in the 2024 season."

What's the leadership been like on the team after not making the CFP?

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

How much has a few weeks off helped Jaeden Roberts?

"It's definitely something that's going to help him. A few weeks is better than nothing and so yeah, out there today, not as noticeable, I guess, him bouncing around. He looked certainly better. I think a lot of that will be a full offseason to help him get really completely over the hump, but he's out there doing his thing. You're never going to question the guys effort, I can tell you that, his want to and his desire."

How much growth have you 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 the sudden hear a ball being thrown or 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 and it's fun seeing him taking advantage of even the scout team reps he took and 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. So he did a lot to help those guys with the defense and now he's getting more and more reps. I'm excited about his future for sure."

How might you change the calendar with the portal and the bowl season?

"I think you're always going to continue to try to tweak and it's our obligation to try to communicate as coaches to try to make it better. I don't know what the perfect answer is because you think about the semester's starting for next year but there's now playoff games going on. There's bowl prep. What's the level of those bowls that are being played with less guys being a part of it. There's always, whether they're unintended, maybe you know what those consequences are going to be when you change something, but there's always more of the things that come along with it. I know it's a topic, certainly us coaches in different circles continue to try to talk about to come up with answers or better solutions, but it's certainly a lot to handle. We've got a staff that I feel like has experience, works together well and in the midst of it I feel like we're handling it about as well as we possibly can. When you talk about a high school class, your own roster, some additions that you're looking to bring in, while getting ready for another game. That's what we're here to do. It's part of our job. I don't really feel overwhelmed by it, we just take each day and pour into it every way you can."

How much are you involved in the portal recruiting or how much are you relying on staff?

"Yeah, it's certainly a team effort across the board. There's a role everyone plays. Every guy and situation is different of course. You think it's your position coach and coordinator, and it's sometimes it's someone on the other side of the ball recruited three years ago. So every situation's different. It's got to be a team effort, on-field staff, off-field staff. It's all hands on deck, always. That's how it's going to be whether it's the portal or recruiting high school prospects."

More Football News From Alabama Crimson Tide On SI:

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Malachi Moore Out for ReliaQuest Bowl Due to Season-Long Injury