Kalen DeBoer addresses his approach to depth chart, roster decisions at Alabama

Kalen DeBoer was pretty honest about his roster decisions and depth chart going into Year 1 at Alabama.

Sure, it’s a new era, but it’s still Alabama. DeBoer inherited a great roster from the retired Nick Saban and probably had more roster retention than originally anticipated.

That’s what happens when you’re a solid head coach that just made the national championship game.

“Yeah, that’s a really good question,” DeBoer said on Ryen Russillo’s podcast. “I think that you know, we certainly are always going to be open. I think saying blank slate may be a little bit too much. But you know, we do have an open mind, I think, because there are these preconceived ideas and thoughts. You know, you hear things and when you’re talking to people, whether it’s the players and and you kind of understand maybe what their role was before, what they’re looking for maybe where guys were a little frustrated, but I think that, you know, we’ve been able to just, you know, mesh and pull together the roster

“We do have some different breaks at different positions. In particular, where there’s some older guys and it’s pretty clear and obvious, you know, based on the experiences they’ve had, where they’re at, you know, when it comes to the depth chart, and then there’s some gaps where there’s some young guys where, you know, they’re having to step in roles and getting opportunities that maybe in a lot of other programs they wouldn’t have had.”

Under DeBoer, Alabama still has the No. 2 overall class in the Class of 2024. Sure, a lot of them originally signed on with Saban, but the retention is there.

In the transfer portal, Alabama got 10 players in while 34 ultimately left. But, despite losing two five-stars, the Crimson Tide gained three four-stars.

There are veterans in place, coupled in with some new recruits and additional veterans from other schools for DeBoer.

“So, you know, this again, trying to just pull it all together,” DeBoer said. “You know, when you have low egos and I feel like just our guys really do. Everyone’s got an ego, but I feel like there’s low egos and they want what’s best for this program and they want to continue the legacy. They’ll take on that role and then they probably see it too. They know where they fit in just as much as anyone else.”