The Extra Point: Alabama Football at 2024 SEC Media Days

It's the first SEC Media Days week for Alabama with Kalen DeBoer at the helm.

Jan 16, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; New Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer is introduced to fans during the first half of the Alabama game with Missouri at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports / Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS, Texas- This week brings another first for Kalen DeBoer as the Alabama football head coach: his first SEC Media Days. DeBoer will take the podium Wednesday at the Omni Hotel in Dallas ahead of the official start to his first season as an SEC head coach.

Now that spring practice and very successful phases of the recruiting process are under his belt since assuming his role in mid-January, perhaps DeBoer isn't overly apprehensive about his forthcoming appearance. Nevertheless, a lot of eyes will be on him.

Joining their head coach in Texas will be veteran Crimson Tide players Jalen Milroe, Tyler Booker and Malachi Moore. All three are not only key returners; they are also leaders on the team. Moore is the lone defensive representative of the trio, while Milroe is the team's presumptive starting quarterback and Booker is expected to anchor the offensive line.

The landscape of the league is vastly different than years past, with the official introduction of Texas and Oklahoma becoming set in stone July 1. With the move, the conference expanded to 16 teams from 14, and in another consequential twist, there are no longer divisions.

Alabama's 2024 schedule, as such, does not include games against mainstays that observers are used to seeing, such as Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Rivalry games against Tennessee and Auburn remain, and Sept. 28 brings an exciting matchup with Georgia at Bryant-Den. The Crimson Tide will play Oklahoma on the road this season after playing Texas in nonconference showdowns during the last two years.