Everything Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama's 30-14 win over Vanderbilt

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 10-ranked Alabama defeated No. 16 Vanderbilt, 30-14, on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. After the home win, head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke to reporters.

Here is everything DeBoer said after the Crimson Tide’s Week 6 conference victory.

DeBoer’s opening statement…

“Really proud of these guys. The resiliency throughout the game, the resiliency of the season and just the way it starts and just with the way they responded time and time again. It wasn’t a perfect game by any means. That’s a well-coached team that we faced there with Coach Lea, does a great job there. I thought we played hard-nosed. I love the way we finished the game, the second half just controlling really the line scrimmage. More and more as the game went on, both sides of the ball. And I think we held them to 20-some yards, really, over the last probably three quarters rushing.

“And so, I’m really proud of the way that the guys responded. And again, it just goes back to doing your job. Our guys did a great job just coming to practice and focusing on us. I think that’s been a huge theme for us here on this run we’re on and the momentum we’re continuing to gain. There’s a confidence between offense and defense that the other side will come through when it matters most. And so, again, it wasn’t perfect by any means, but proud of the way we responded and continued to fight all game long.”

DeBoer on Jam Miller, being able to lean on the run game late…

“It’s huge. It takes a lot of pressure off the play-calling and obviously Ty, too, when every play doesn’t have to be a pass or protection. And just good to see Jam out there doing his thing, breaking loose and bigger chunks. I still feel like between the line and the tailbacks, there’s still a few more opportunities that we can improve on. We need to keep taking the next step in the run game. I thought it was something we worked on a lot. We knew we were getting closer last week, and I feel like we took another step this week.”

DeBoer on what has led to taking punches/keep punching back in two straight games…

“Just really understanding when it first happened Week 1, that there’s one of two things you can do. You can just take it, or you can fight back. And if we are who we are and we really believe that we have a good football team, then we should only have one option, and that’s just to give everything we got and leave it all on the football field. And that’s what these guys are doing. The defense is just doing a good job of making sure that they force the opposing offense to play another play, right? Line up, you see the drives — I mean, there’s two turnovers in the red zone, really, and so, forcing them to play another play, and just making them earn it. And then our guys, again, we are kind of getting that feeling of takeaways. I think like what we did last year, it’s starting to come back to us. And the physicality now, on top of that, that I felt we brought today, I thought it was a positive step for our defense.”

DeBoer on Kadyn Proctor’s run play; how long has it been installed…

“Not as long. Less moving parts on this one. Just give it to the big man and let him rumble. He did a great job. I mean, it’s just hard to bring down a guy that’s that size and that athletic. So, happy that he did a good job handling the football and securing it. It’s not something he does as much as the other guys, and it’s a big moment in the game. So, love the idea to put the call in. Love the play call and good execution.”

DeBoer on how Alabama’s first defensive possession set the tone for the second half…

“Really key. One thing that I think we’ve done a good job here as of late, until today, was coming out of the locker room to start the game defensively, and that didn’t happen. Iit didn’t happen at the level that we wanted. First quarter, giving up a couple runs and giving them some life. And so, really coming back out of the locker room, I was really proud of the way the defense — and there were definitely some adjustments that I know we made in the second to third quarter there that led to what we’re doing. And that’s part of Plan A and Plan B and Plan C that you have when you’re working throughout the week. You put those things in, and you have them ready to go. And you gotta change it up, right, because you got good players on the other side, too, that are and coaches that are gonna attack you if you just sit in the same thing. So, I thought our guys, understanding the other parts of the game plan and then go in and execute it, I was really proud of them.”

DeBoer on pass protection; how Ty Simpson dealt with pressure…

“A little bit of both. I think Ty could have thrown it away a few times. Just a couple lessons learned there. I thought we were better last week probably with as much as we were getting. And some of it’s 1-on-1s. I think that’s really what a lot of it probably was when we watched the film, but I haven’t seen it in that detail. So yeah, having them in his face, it backed up. It kills a drive. We had to punt and give them good field position. So there’s things that you improve on, and there’s things that you just gotta — I don’t think it was awful, but I think that it definitely could have been better. So, sometimes you just gotta live with throwing away, too. And we have enough threats, as long as we’re not way behind the chains, we feel we can convert the third down 10s, the third down 12s. When we start hitting past 14, 15 yards, obviously, there’s less and less plays in the playbook and a lot more defensive opportunities for them to just sit back and give you a few yards and then make you punt.”

DeBoer on what shifted in Alabama’s run defense after the first quarter…

“The one explosive that they had that was probably the longest run I think that they had, we just have to do a better job of holding our — I mean, sometimes it’s not a whole defensive thing. Sometimes it’s just one to two guys gotta hold their ground, be more physical and understand where the help’s at and the angle. So, it’s just a better job of execution that we need to have. I think, again, it’s the guys believing that if we just execute them, the game will come to us, and we’ll make those plays. That’s really what they did, is they just still honed in on doing their part and then knowing that the rest of the guys were gonna rally. And that’s what we did. I felt like we really kept the option stuff under control. They hit a play action there in the fourth quarter on the third down that got behind us a little bit. But again, I thought the guys did a good job with their eyes. The discipline was gonna be a big thing that way. I thought we took some good steps against an offense that has a lot of wrinkles and things that they’ll show you.”

DeBoer on bottling up Diego Pavia…

“A lot of just the discipline, and the hardest ones are when he takes off and runs and then still keeps his eyes on the field and you’re drawn to him. You come off your man whether it’s zone, especially in zones, and I know he got a couple first downs that way where he just flipped it out there. So again, everyone’s just — you gotta contain, and that’s easier said than done. He gets out in space and they do a good job moving the pocket so he’s not just sitting back there. And then they got enough other threats, and they get rid of it quick. The option game and all that, they got good personnel besides him.”

DeBoer on the confidence the team has in Ty Simpson…

“Yeah, we do. You can feel it in the calls that we’re making. We’re aggressive. I mean, we’re backed up in our own territory and throwing the ball down the field with some play action and shots. Ryan catches one down the right sideline there and when you can do those things and you trust your quarterback as a play caller and he goes and makes those plays, there is a lot of confidence. I think we still haven’t hit our full swing here like I think we’re capable of as an offense, especially with finishing drives. But there’s no doubt that I think our defense sees what we can do offensively, and now, it’s a little bit of a balance too where the offense sees what the defense can do if they just continue to stay the course and do a good job. The adjustments, the physicality continues to get better and better as a football team. I love the way we compete right now.”

DeBoer on calling timeouts and the importance of the scoring drive before the half…

“It was huge. And you’re playing the percentages, right? You’re playing the percentages to just give yourself as much opportunity. You’re letting them get a good play call and it goes both ways, and they did a nice job of scoring. But you’re playing the percentages that you’re gonna have as much time as possible. And with our offense, again, getting in a rhythm like that, like we did, I’m really proud of the fight and just the belief to go down the length of the field in a short amount of time like we had. So that happens in practice. We do, we call it clutch, two-minute drill every single week. And we did a lot in fall camp. And there’s a lot of opportunities that I think our system allows for whatever you call, it’s probably gonna be wrong. And so the guys are understanding that, Ty’s understanding it. You can see some of those windows that he started to hit. I love how we’re going, not just in the middle of the field now, but we hit some balls on the outside. So the defense gotta cover the entire field — short, long, sideline to sideline.”

DeBoer on the impact of Alabama’s wide receivers…

“They’re competitors. They all have a little something different. I mean, there’s a ton of overlap on their skill sets. I think they can all do things with the ball. But you see Isaiah going up, just a big, tall target, and just grabbing the ball out of the air in between safeties and corners and along the sideline. He’s done that a number of times now. That’s awesome for a quarterback to have that. And so as a group, it isn’t just those three. Lotzeir, I mean, Rico caught a nice ball over the middle today. Just the guts and the pride that that group has in each other. And as a unit to go out there, keep getting better. They push each other in practice, so that’s what’s cool to see. They’re good friends. They all wanna be out there, but it’s a healthy competition, much like we’ve talked about in other positions. So great job by those guys finding a way to get explosives. Really, I mean, a third and extra long, we still believe we can convert it. We don’t wanna be in those spots, but I feel like we’re calling plays to where if there’s any time for Ty, he’s gonna make the throw, they’re gonna make the catch. And if you come after us and get singled up, that’s an opportunity right there, too.”

DeBoer on what needs to develop for the offense to become what he envisions…

“Just keep getting better in all the things that I feel — the run game, finishing drives. A couple times now in the last couple weeks, just finishing drives when we get those spots. And also understanding what our strengths are. I know we had a turnover today there early, but just taking care of the football. That is a huge piece of our success. We’re not putting the defense in very many tough positions. And so, just make sure our strengths are our strengths, and keep bringing the things that we know we gotta get better at along.”

DeBoer on his message to Ty Simpson about the outside noise…

“Well, there’s enough to where it’s not just this week, right? There’s enough to where you can’t help but hear it. I can hear it in the questions we get asked in press conferences and with y’all and stuff, and so you know it’s out there. And the thing I’m really proud, and this is what I talk to the guys about. Our guys right now are just showing up and doing the work. That’s what’s got us to this point, and just keep reminding them. And it gets really tempting, and I’m sure it’ll be something that pops up, but they’re doing a really good job of just showing up and doing the work and focusing on us, and this is what you get. You get these games that you know are gonna go four quarters in the SEC. I showed them a stat. I think you guys probably find something where I’m wrong on this, but I believe there was 12 games going into this weekend. I think eight of them were seven points or less. The other two were 10 points or less. These guys won big at South Carolina, but these games are gonna ’round the wire. And so I just love the way that our thought process and our mindset is, that you gotta be in it for four quarters. We’ve used the analogy of a 15-round heavyweight fight, and that’s what it’s gotta be every single week. We gotta go do that again this next week against Missouri.”

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