Kalen DeBoer's Top Concern for Alabama Football Heading into Season

The Crimson Tide coach cited his team's fitness when asked about his top concern after the team's first practice of fall camp.

Alabama Football / Alabama Athletics

The Alabama Crimson Tide football program capped off its first full week of fall camp with a scrimmage on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The Crimson Tide is now nine practices into fall camp 2024 and has three weeks until it kicks off against Western Kentucky in Tuscaloosa. So what is head coach Kalen DeBoer's top concern as his program has another two weeks of fall camp ahead of themselves?

"Probably just staying healthy, you know?" said DeBoer after the scrimmage. "Again, I feel good about where we’re at. This will be our biggest scrimmage. This will be the most plays that we run. Next week we’ll have a scrimmage too, but it won’t be quite as many, it’ll be solid. But just being healthy. We need all the reps. We have some veterans, there’s no doubt about it, but we certainly have a lot of young guys that need to continue to develop and that are important.

If they’re not in the ones, they’re definitely in the two rotation, so those reps are invaluable for those guys, not just for them but also the trust that it takes as a whole unit. So I think that’s the biggest thing, just because our youth is there around different position groups. Guys are doing great jobs with their bodies. Anytime they have a chance there, extra time, they’re in the training room doing a good job. And just before practice, after practice, doing what they should. Being a pro. And those championship habits, you can see them really take them and place an importance on them."

On the surface, this seems like any generic answer a coach who's keeping things close to the vest might give after a week of fall camp. What coach would announce a weakness on his team when expectations are so high? However, a lot can be gleaned from DeBoer's answer by diving deeper into his comments.

First and foremost he's not citing mental errors, consistency in effort or a lack of ability to grasp the playbook conceptually. A coach who's biggest concern is the health of his team is happy about the development and progress in the offseason.

Secondly, his answer tells Alabama fans that DeBoer is confident in the key contributors on this year's team. Don't believe me? Listen to his answer discussing the quarterbacks and running backs performances on Saturday.

He cites the need to develop the youth during the next two weeks of fall camp to ensure the team is ready for the rigors of the season, but a starting unit staying healthy would mitigate the need to rely on youth and depth.

When examining the talent and leadership in each Alabama position group this fall it's easy to see some of the nation's best football players. Tyler Booker, Jalen Milroe and Domani Jackson could all turn themselves into first-round draft picks this spring. There's extensive experience in Alabama's defensive front seven between Tim Keenan, Tim Smith, Quandarrius Robinson, Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell. Alabama's starting 22, 25 if you count the specialists, is one of the strongest on paper in the entire country, but behind them questions a rampant. What happens if a key contributor goes down? The domino effect, depending on the injury, could impact the entire team.

Alabama is nine practices into fall camp and has been in full pads for the last four of them. The Crimson Tide has 11 more practices scheduled over the course of the next two weeks and while lining up in the right spot, making good decisions throwing the football and blocking the right defender are all important the most important thing the Alabama team can do to ensure a special season is on the horizon is to stay healthy.