Everything Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama's fifth spring practice
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama held its fifth spring football practice Thursday afternoon on the Thomas-Drew Fields. Shortly after the 2-hour workout, head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke to local reporters at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility. Below is everything DeBoer said.
DeBoer’s opening statement…
“Practice 5 is already behind us. It’s going fast. That’s one-third of the practices, and we’ve got three scrimmages, a day even with just helmets. It’s gonna move along quickly. All of a sudden after Saturday’s practice, we’ll be one step even closer.
“Guys, I thought, today really did a nice job bringing energy. I thought the physicality was at the highest level. Today was our first day in full pads, as you saw out there. Didn’t do anything as far as taking a lot of guys to the ground or anything like that in our full scrimmage stuff that we always kind of end each practice with, but we will get to that here on Saturday a little bit, just some isolated opportunities there to work on that.
“Guys came back from spring break – we’ve got a high standard and asked them to be even better than what we were on Tuesday. They definitely brought it. You can tell it’s important to them. They’re doing a lot of things to work together, to improve individually, collectively, both on their side of the ball and as a team.”
DeBoer on tights ends…
“The tight end is a really important part of our offense. Always has been, always will be. I would consider us a pro-spread type of offense, and the tight end is a big piece of that. Controls the middle of the field and gives us extra gaps and run lanes. A guy who can line up inside with his hand down, off the ball, flex out, is smart enough to know protections and can run the routes, all part of the tree. That’s a big deal in our offense. A personnel matchup issue that we wanna try to expose when we get the right guy out there.
“A lot of competition, a lot of rotation in. They’re all doing a pretty good job. We’re getting CJ (Dippre) back here a little bit. He’s not full-go necessarily but him added to the mix. So it’s been a thin group but it’s, with the addition now here, coming along, and it’s a really, really important part of our team. Being able to do different personnel groupings rather than just be multiple receiver sets is a big deal, and the tight end group has always been in that role.”
DeBoer on any issues with quarterback cadence like Ryan Day suggested…
“I guess I only can really go off of what we’ve done right now, and we haven’t had any problems there. We use our cadence and it’s the clap cadence. Jalen (Milroe), all the quarterbacks have done a good job. I think, from what I see, we haven’t really had any problems at all.”
DeBoer on what he’s learned about the recruiting process…
“I don’t think there’s anything new. I just think our staff’s just done a really good job. We did have to play some catchup early on, just trying to build some relationships quickly. Obviously, identify first, and then kind of get in the game with some relationships. Our staff, both on the field staff and our recruiting staff, have done a good job working hard, being on the same page. Getting these guys here to campus has been really a big deal, and once they get here and they get to know everyone, it’s led to success, as you’ve seen.”
DeBoer on how he will use social media in recruiting…
“We added some staff and really have a vision there. I think it’s a big deal. Not just what the average fan but what the recruits and prospects that we’re looking at, what they like and what is attractive to them. Just trying to showcase our program. Also just get our message out, them to understand the culture we’re trying to build here and what all our resources are and who the people are that all work here. Walt Brock is a guy that just stepped foot on campus here this week, and we’re really excited about what I know he can bring through the experiences he’s had in the past and kind of a big picture, but also a very detail-oriented vision that he has for us.”
DeBoer on updates on Sterling Dixon, Germie Bernard…
“Just minor. Minor stuff. They’ll be back. I don’t know if they’ll be back on Saturday, but they should be back next week. Nothing major.”
DeBoer on headset communication…
“We have only three that we’re working with right now — two on offense, one on defense. On the defensive side, it’s been clean every single time. Today, there might have been one — I haven’t identified exactly if he couldn’t hear us or what the situation was. But that’s the only time. It was nothing major. I think we got it figured out even within the practice. It’s been really good. I think the key is to not use it too much. You’ve got to practice kind of what that method might be and the things that we’re going to be able to utilize it for, but it will shut off based on the rules as we understand it right now.
“There’s going to be a time period where you’ve got to have all your mechanics, and if it goes out, you’ve still got to have your mechanics in place. It’s been really helpful letting the coordinators be able to talk directly to the guys that are on the field. That’s been a little different than anything we’ve ever experienced, but it’s gone really smooth.”
DeBoer on freshman DBs Red Morgan, Zabien Brown…
“Those two in particular — and there’s been some others, too — but since you brought them up, they’ve certainly been highlighted throughout these first five practices. Red made a nice play or two today, and Zabien’s been super consistent. Really beyond what you would expect for guys that are so young. It’s been really positive with those guys.”
DeBoer on Jehiem Oatis’ timetable to return…
“I don’t know. I do know, but I think it’s still kind of relative, kind of up in the air still. So we’re certainly aware of it, obviously.”
DeBoer on offensive tackles…
“Offensive line-wise, even if you just look at our scholarship numbers, we are short there. And so you need so many to get through a season. Those guys are getting a lot of reps, they’re getting a lot of work. They’re all getting better. I’m really proud of the way they’re just grinding and getting after it every day. But scholarship numbers for the offensive line in general are still just below where we’d like to be going into the fall.”
DeBoer on the importance of pass-catchers with different skill sets…
“Yeah, it’s been really good. Each day you kind of learn a little bit more about these guys. So something kind of pops and you see a guy making a catch a certain way — body control. Some of the, just, ways they release and, kind of, win off the line of scrimmage. Some of those guys have shown up in different ways. So right now we’re in install mode. It’s just teaching everyone the offense. Kind of they’re all Xs right now — not like ‘X’ as in receiver X, or Z, but like they’re all just learning the offense. As we get into speciality packages and that will really come in the fall, that’s when you utilize the strengths that each of them have. But it is important, very important, for us to know what these guys are going into the summer so we can plan accordingly with certain concepts and certain packages going into fall camp.”
DeBoer on the possibility of a June signing day…
“Well, I know there’s a lot of concerns. I think we’re a pretty unified group here in the SEC with trying to just — we’re for the December date right now, and we’re good with moving it up. I know in the high school ranks, there’s a lot of concern. It’s a very valid concern. You might have some guys that aren’t playing and may opt-out if they sign. I don’t know if those are the guys you want playing. I think it’s also really good for us for any of those we want to see play one more season in the fall for our evaluation purposes. I think it’s really important.
“Everything, I think, would just get moved up even earlier than what it is. I know there’s some reasons why you’d want to do it. But I think at this point moving it earlier in December is a good move. Just want to be careful not to speed things up more than what we have. But working and hearing from the high school coaches, I think that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to make the game better, make good decisions on behalf of all of us. I think right now moving it to June is probably a little too much.”
DeBoer on what he is prioritizing most in spring practice…
“The football piece and the recruiting piece. Getting the staff aligned and just trying to make sure that we’re on the same page with what that practice and execution of the practice is going to look like. That’s big. To me, it’s getting to know these guys and showing confidence and just acknowledging the growth that we’re seeing with them. Challenging them to be even better. That piece with the players, but just the football. Really evaluating how we do everything when it comes to who we are as a team, what our identity is becoming on both sides of the ball.
“The guys are doing a really good job. We’re throwing a lot at them. Throwing a lot at them really fast. Today was some red zone stuff. It just keeps coming. Saturday will be even more. We want to try to get ready for a scrimmage to where we can go up and down the field at any down and distance and every part of the field, we can go run plays and see where we’re at.”
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