Everything Kalen DeBoer said to kick off Tennessee game week

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke to reporters on Monday of Tennessee week. Here is everything DeBoer said to kick off game week No. 7 of the season.

DeBoer’s opening statement…

“Just recapping Missouri, proud of the fight of these guys. It’s not just the last three weeks, it’s really the last five, six weeks since we dropped week one. Just the resiliency these guys have, and it’s in games, it’s just them sticking together. They’re playing for each other, just got to keep it rolling. Doesn’t happen on its own. It happens through hard work. It happens through building trust and belief, through practice and great habits and it’s carrying over to the football field; helping us find ways to win when it matters most.

“So team football, I think, probably some of the best team football, stacking weeks on top of each other that I’ve ever been a part of. It’s not perfect, you guys see that, but it’s a team sticking together. It’s a team covering for each other, doing some of the things that we couldn’t do a year ago. One side of the ball coming through, getting points on the board. The other side, getting a stop, three and out, changing field position that way. Kicks when we need it, pinning teams back inside their own 20 in different games. Just playing team football, and that’s what matters right now. So I think there’s a toughness that we have. We talk about toughness wins — that’s mental, physical to emotional toughness. 

“I think the way our guys, turnover-wise, continue to win that battle each and every week. We’re winning the time of possession. We didn’t shut them down, but we took a lot of the things that Missouri did well and flipped the script on that from a time of possession standpoint. Kept them from being able to have as many plays as they’d like to be able to continue to hammer away with their run game. That’s team football right there. I think the penalties, I’m not afraid to talk about it with all those things, because it happens through work. You create your own luck. You create your own breaks. Could use a few more breaks when the ball was on the ground, those will fall on our hands as long as we continue to hustle and get to it. But now the whole thing is about sustaining the energy because each week right, each week has been stacked on top of itself. These guys have been bringing it at a high level in practice, and get a great opponent with Tennessee coming in here this weekend. 

“Understand the rivalry, it’s a lot of fun for our fans and goes back, obviously, generations. We understand how big of a deal this game is to to them. We understand how big of a deal this game is to us right now in the season that we’re in, and that’s really what we’re focused on. But Coach Heupel, nothing but the utmost respect for him, his staff just what they’re doing, what he’s done Tennessee in his coaching career. Outstanding coach, great football mind. You can see it on the football field. You see the culture that they’ve built there, too. Just looking forward to a great game, we need our fans to be extremely loud. We need an environment that’s the best in the country here this weekend. We’re playing for a lot each week, and we appreciate the support we get. Our players feel the energy feed off of it.” 

DeBoer on Jalen Hale, Jaylen Mbakwe and Cayden Jones…

“Jalen Hale has been sick. That was the reason why he, last minute, got put on the report. Bak had a hand injury in practice last week, he’ll be back out there practicing and we’ll see kind of as the week goes on, how he goes there. Obviously plays receiver, that affects you a little bit, but there’s other things he can do for our football team, and he’s in great spirits. Jam and Derek will both be going through their (concussion) protocol this week. Cayden Jones had surgery on an ankle injury, and so he’ll be down for a little.” 

DeBoer on pass protection responsibility falling on Ty Simpson, Parker Brailsford…

“A lot of how we orchestrate it, I think it’s pretty easy to see from a football mind. It starts with Parker getting things started but Ty overrides everything. Ty can see the big picture and knows really what he wants to get to. So in the end, the quarterback whether it’s a turnover and it’s not his fault, it still falls on his shoulders. The protection checks, he holds himself to such a high level he’s going to take accountability for all of that. He’s the one that needs to declare something’s not right, or what he feels comfortable with getting this into that protection. So again, we ask a lot out of him. He asks a lot of himself, and it doesn’t surprise me that he hold himself accountable for that, for all of that.” 

DeBoer on Wildcat quarterback Kadyn Proctor…

“I just think Ryan Grubb and our offensive staff, doing a great job, not just with that play, but everything we’re doing, continuing to force the issue, have creativity. Force defenses to have to think about what’s next, whether it’s with that package or other things that we do. We’re using it in big moments. It’s something that we feel isn’t just this exhibition. It’s something, we feel like KP can do some things. There’s a positive and a way where we can gain yards in critical moments with him. There’s a trust that we have in him. Again, I just think in general, Ryan Grubb just doing a great job, continuing to push the envelope for our whole offense to continue to attack teams in different ways. People always think attack vertically in the passing game, but there’s other ways to attack people, do it in those moments. It’s great to see our guys execute and do a good job. Got a first down.”

DeBoer on Alabama’s resilience; a moment that defines it…

“I think there’s a lot of them. The first drive of the game, they go down the field on us, and we respond offensively with a touchdown, and then our defense goes back out there and gets the stop. And then we respond again. No one relaxing, no one flinching, even in that sequence of two offense, two defensive series. At the beginning of the second half, when we put the ball on the ground and give them a short field, they score a touchdown, that’s a time where all of a sudden we had a 10-point lead, and now within a minute, really, of time on the clock, because it was the end of the half, they got a field goal and then a touchdown. All of a sudden, we’re at a tie game. What’s that look like? It’s coming back, you can see it.

“I know your question’s about certain conversations. I think it’s just the look in our guys’ eyes. They’re in the locker room at halftime, I’ve referred to this a couple of times. They’re looking to solve problems. There’s energy. There’s an excitement to go back out there, continue to execute. There’s not a timidness that they have. It’s trust and belief in them and their side of the ball, but it’s also trust and belief that the other side’s gonna get it figured out at some point. They’re gonna get it figured out, the game’s gonna come back to us if we’re behind. We’re gonna continue to execute and just continue to apply pressure when we’re ahead.”

DeBoer on Alabama’s home atmosphere at Bryant-Denny Stadium…

“It’s a great environment here. I think it’s the feeling you even have with the walk into the stadium. There’s just, the players, we pull up in the buses, and you can see everyone’s ready to go. We’d better make sure we uphold our end of the bargain too. That goes into the week of preparation, understanding what it’s even gonna feel like when you’re practicing on a Tuesday, the excitement that leads into wanting to make sure that we’re at the top of our game on Saturday. And then you get in the environment, and you need crowd noise to affect the timing of the snap count for the opponent. The momentum, and what that brings when we’re making plays. So, just huge to have that energy being at home. I think that would go for a lot of programs, but it’s definitely a big deal here for us.”

DeBoer on Keon Keeley…

“He just has done a good job of just being patient. But there’s just things that, there’s reasons that have kept him from getting on the football field that he just continues to work on. And he’s got potential to do some amazing things for us, and working him into different packages this last week, I really liked the growth there. He’s been involved in special teams a little bit more in the past few weeks, as well. So, just continue to build each week, and as he gets more and more comfortable, I can see that impact being greater and greater. And so, I’m really proud of who, he’s just a great kid in general. That’s what makes it fun being on the football field with him. That’s what makes you wanna pour everything you got into him and help his growth. And then, he’s humble and obviously can make some plays. So, I’m looking to see more and more of him in the weeks ahead.”

DeBoer on what he’s learned about the team after three straight ranked wins…

“It’s been a fight for these guys, because it’s not just those three games. We’ve had our backs to the wall since Week 1, and there’s a bye week in there. So, I think they’ve done a great job of taking whatever it is that is against us or whatever the doubt is that people have for our team, and taking that energy and just pouring it into what matters most. And that’s our preparation. And so, this is another — there’s a rivalry piece to this game, but there’s also now just, there’s a confidence that we’ve built through some things, but we also gotta go back to, how did this all start? This all started with us just really being intentional on the work that we’re doing. We prefer to just shut up, show up and do the work. I mean, that’s just really what we’ve gotta hone in on. And in everything we do, we just have an urgency level.

“And I’m really proud of the guys for not falling off that standard that we had, because that’s what human nature is. You get comfortable. We’ve had five wins in a row now, and our conference and the schedule keeps you from, that’s one thing that keeps you from falling off the standard, because every week, if you don’t, you know you’re gonna be in trouble. And so, I’m just proud of the way the guys have been resilient in the moments that matter most. And just continue to also understand how we’ve got there, and it’s through hard work. It’s through a lot of those things I said earlier with the team and the buy-in to each other, not wanting to let their teammates down. And so, again, we got a lot of room for improvement. You’ve heard from the coordinators and the areas that we’ve fallen short and the things that we feel we can do better.”

DeBoer on if he limits or changes practice reps during physical stretches like this…

“I think as the season goes along, you have to continue to keep that in mind, on where is your team at? How is this taking a toll? Right now, I feel we’re always monitoring it, but the pedal is down right now for our guys. And the GPS and all that kind of stuff, there’s other ways that we used to not be able to tell where our guys were at, and I think from a practice habit standpoint, we practice as hard as you can imagine, and there’s proof in that. It isn’t just something that’s just the eyeball test. There’s other pieces to it, as well. But we also have to understand, like with your question, that there are physical games being played on Saturdays. And there are certain guys that it hits different than others. And so that shows up on Tuesday, it shows up on Wednesday.

“A lot of people reading the reps and things like that, and why is this guy, his rep count down? There’s probably a little bit more to that as well that isn’t seen because you’re not in practice, and who’s maybe a little bit hobbled and dinged up, and we’re not making all that stuff known all the time. So I’m just really proud of the way these guys, each week, tomorrow morning. I really feel like I know what I’m gonna get from our guys. I expect a high level of energy. I expect a high level of just effort. And they’ve risen to the occasion every week and haven’t fallen off. And so, that’s a credit to them, that’s a credit to our coaching staff for finding the ways to really keep them on edge, keep them motivated, understand the importance of the work that we put in all day, each and every day.”

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