We’re on to day three of 2026 SEC Media Days, which opened up with Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer, who enters his third year leading the Tide. He is coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, but now looking to take a step toward true title contention.
DeBoer was asked about the quarterback position, following Nick Saban and more. Here’s what he said.
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KALEN DEBOER: All right, good morning. Greg, appreciate the introduction and your leadership for not just the SEC, but college athletics. Just also want to thank all of you here and everyone that’s not as well, that covers not just Alabama football but the SEC, brings out the great stories and journeys of our players, staff, everything that’s tied to our great sport.
I do want to say just a couple things, give some props to or athletic department. Greg Byrne, just can’t say enough about how much of a great job he’s done bringing staff members, head coaches in particular, but a group of people to Alabama, and you can see that success coming through. And not just the sports, but probably receive a little bit more popularity. I think we were the first program this last year that ever had appearances in the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament, men’s and women’s College World Series, as well as the CFP. Also had a player drafted in the first round, both from Major League Baseball, NBA, and the NFL.
So just appreciate our head coaches, all the staff members in the other programs at Alabama. Appreciate the support from our president, Dr. Mohler on through Greg Byrne and everyone who works together to make our place what it is.
You will see throughout the day, I brought three players with, guys I just want to hit on just real briefly. I know they’re well-known in what they do on the football field, so probably talk more about who they are and what they are off the football field.
But Ryan Coleman-Williams, a junior. Already going into his third year; time flies. But I guess the thing I’m just going to say about him as all three of these guys as they go through your football careers, guy like Ryan can’t be understated that he’s going to have his degree here in December. That’s two and a half years because he didn’t come in in January. He came in during the summer.
So just something when it comes to focus that Ryan has, not just on the football field but off, it’s so impressive, handling all the things he does.
Zabien Brown made many of the great plays that we’ve had over the last couple years in the secondary. A number of touchdowns, interceptions, plays that sealed games, helped win games. Just who he is and the steadiness he’s played with also can be seen in what he does off the football field. He’ll have his degree in three years here in December as well.
And then Bray Hubbard is our third member, so two from the defense, one from the offensive side. Bray is through and through here with the Crimson Tide. Just his experience, hard hitting safety that can play in a lot of different ways, extremely versatile.
Not only does he have his undergrad degree, but he will have his Masters here in December. So proud of these three guys, proud of the leadership they bring. They’re critical to our success this fall, as are many of the guys that I will talk about as we go through the day. But these three I know are doing a great job representing us here today, so I appreciate them.
When it comes to our team, just really excited about what this season is going look like. You know, a lot of new faces, and so there are some unknowns but a lot of things we know we can hang our hat on, things we can build on.
Greg mentioned some of just the successes that we had last year. 7-1 in the conference, making the conference championship, winning a playoff game. We obviously fell short of our goals when it comes to winning the conference championship, winning more games, and competing for a national championship in the playoffs, but there are some steps that I felt we took.
I think there is a toughness. There is a culture that exists you don’t win that many games in our conference without, and we want to continue to build.
We don’t take these things for granted. As I mentioned, there is over 50 new players in the football program, guys that have maybe been a part of the league at atmosphere places, but a lot of guys that haven’t.
So every year you start over. Every year you build that foundation. You take the experiences you’ve had, and I think those collectively together are the ones that you really look at.
A year ago I can think about standing up here and talking about how we needed to improve in penalties. We went from bottom of the pack in the conference to right at the top if not the top in the conference when it comes to penalty yards per game.
The ability to be great in critical moments. A lot of close losses the year before and finding ways to be great at the end the half, in the end zone, end of the game, critical moments, third and fourth downs; we wanted to get more pressure on the quarterback.
So we did a lot of those things last year. We need to make sure that we don’t take them for granted. You achieve what you emphasize, and we got to make sure we continue to emphasize those areas that we want to continue to keep strengths for us as we work on the things that we want to improve.
Just other improvement areas, I think we really look at it, we want to be able to run the football better. I think that will help the overall team, overall when it comes to protecting your quarterback. Makes play calling easier. So that’s something we’ve addressed and stressed within our team.
And just taking advantage the skillsets we have on the defensive side. Think about our secondary and all the guys that we returned with the entire group, and even some of the guys in the rotation returning as well. I think we added some pieces not just in the offensive line, but the defensive line, that can come in and really give us what we want from a physicality standpoint.
Appreciate or coaching staff. We have a lot of continuity there. Defensive side returns everyone. We’ve made a few hires, some opportunities for guys that got opportunities to go be head coaches and coordinators at other places. Bringing in guys like Richard Owens as tight ends coach, Adrian Klemm and Derrick Nix on the offensive side. They have done a great job gelling with the rest of our staff there and bringing the pieces together, so looking forward to this season.
Really excited about this group. Whenever we have media days we know that means the season is upon us. Your team is made in these summer months. We got to come together and have a great fall camp. There is a lot of execution and things that we need to refine that need to take place just through getting the reps that will come here in the month of August.
So look forward to a great season. Open for questions.
Q. You mentioned that continuity on your staff. How does that set you up for success this season from a coordinating perspective? And beyond the quarterback battle what have you found yourself spending the most time on this offseason?
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, I think just familiarity is so important. Just being around here this morning and doing different interviews, you know, year three versus years two and especially year one, and any time you have more familiarity you understand who is around you. You understand the areas that are strengths. You understand the areas that are weaknesses.
So that continuity on our coaching staff is critical. It trickles down. You’re not just coaching the coaches, but what really matters is what the players learn and what the players know. So our coaching staff being on the same page, everyone gelling at the leadership level, coaching staff, will certainly trickle down and lead to that feeling of confidence, trust, and belief you need among your players, which is the most important.
Q. You got a lot of new faces on the offensive line. Do you expect that change to lead to improvement from that group?
KALEN DEBOER: We lost some good players that got obviously first round draft picks and Kaden Procter, Parker Brailsford, some good players, great players that we’ll miss.
The guys that either returned, a Michael Carroll who took a lot of snaps for us, Will Sanders has taken a lot of snaps for us. There are some guys within our program, like a Jackson Lloyd. We brought in some players that have been at other places that have been on the football field in the conference, outside the conference.
What I appreciate about the guys that have come in, I guess really the whole unit, is how open they’ve been to just being coached, being taught, wanting to come together.
You know, feeding off of the energy or the talk around it being an area that needs to be improved. You know, but just focusing on what they can control and not making it more than it needs to be and also understanding the urgency that needs to happen to be an elite group.
Last year we had a number of guys that were in the mix, in the rotation, and I think a lot of it is always — there is a piece to it where we were trying to find the right combinations, but there was also a lot of times where it was out of necessity, you know, injuries and other where we needed to make those changes.
Hopefully we can find a group here in fall camp that really gels well together, is the best unit as a whole. When communication is made, it’s understood and it’s communicated at a high level, you know, to where everyone is on the same page, can go out there and do their jobs.
I think there are physical tools across the board in our football team, but the question regarding offensive line, the physical tools there, we have a younger group, but again, that leads to the eagerness that these guys have and the willingness to be coached and to be pushed and that humility that they have I think that can be seen in the work that’s been put in.
Q. Been a lot of talk about nine-game conference schedule. I wanted to talk about a big non-conference game you have this year, which is a team you played last year at Florida State on September 19th. What’s the approach this year? I know there was a lot hoopla, back and forth between the players last year. A little bit more quiet this year. What’s been the approach from a coach’s perspective to these players this year?
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, all these games are important. Nine conference games; each one of them you can’t worry about the next until you’ve taken care of your business, the one that’s in front of you.
First and foremost for us is East Carolina. We got fall camp, but East Carolina, and then your reference to the Florida State game. That’s one that certainly put us in a tough spot a year ago and we got to make sure we’re at our best. It’s a home game for us. You know, we got to protect or home turf there and that goes for every game. Not just that one.
But it’s one that put us in a tough spot. Our guys did a great job responding last year to the adversity that hit them pretty much smack in the face week one, responding with winning ten of the next 11.
There is lessons and things and moments you go through. I think that moment actually made us stronger as a football program and as a football team for sure for the 2025 season, and something we need to make we take and learn from going into the next couple months here as we get into 2026.
Q. You mentioned the run game. You clearly didn’t run the ball well last year. Neither did Texas and Oklahoma, historically running back rich programs. Is that is continuing trend do you think this college football that is a trickle will down from the NFL or rules changes, and do you think that will continue?
KALEN DEBOER: No, because I think we’ve had success running the football with the rules and not much has changed since then. We just got to do a better job. I think our league and schedule last year we had some very good run defenses, very good defenses in general that we faced, especially in the latter half of the season.
And so you still got to find ways to get the job done. We understand where that bar is at, what it’s going to take to accomplish the job: Being effective, running the ball at a high level.
So we got to work to accomplish that.
Q. Coach, I was hoping maybe you could compare and contrast Keelon and Austin for us a little bit and where they are right now.
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, guys that are in different years as far as Austin going into his fourth year, really fourth year in this system, Keelon going into his second, so a little bit of a difference there.
You know, I know that both of them would say what they know now versus what they knew a year ago, I think especially in Keelon’s case when it comes to football knowledge, understanding of the offense, understanding how you attack a defense, defensive structure, I think their reps have helped them really take these big jumps, especially early in the last five months.
So I think last year helped them, too, with the reps we give them. We’re very intentional with how we distribute them, and so I think skillset-wise you’re talking about a much taller, bigger quarterback with Austin. Austin I think will surprise people when he really gets out and runs because he runs very well; better I think than most people think.
Keelon is versatile that way, you know, has created with his legs as a high school football player. You can see it at times. It’s hard to replicate in practice and a guy is not live.
But both of them are more than capable. I think they’re high level elite quarterbacks. Fortunately we have them both in our program and it’s going to be a competition that’s going to lead to a tough decision, one we’re fortunate to have.
It’s going to be one that when we do make the decision we’ll be confident we’ll do a great job. They are two guys that are well respected by our entire football team because of how they work, who they are as people, and the production and what they look like on the football field.
Q. Obviously a couple years ago you had Ryan Coleman-Williams burst on to the scene. Do you foresee a potential path for a running back like EJ Crowell or wide receiver Cederian Morgan to maybe do something similar?
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, I think Ryan’s freshman year was special, big plays he made in big moments. You know, I think a lot of our freshman that we have recruited over last year’s class and this year’s class, I think guys that can come in and be impact players for us.
And so we will need — I think we won’t need as many impact freshman this year as we had last year. I think you can arguably say there is at least six guys that had starter reps the latter half of the season; guys that we are counting on as impact players. Ryan that year as a freshman was that guy, and we’re going to need that from those guys that you mentioned. Both EJ and Cederian I think are guys that we’ll be looking to that could have an impact that is significant and one that’s needed to help our football team.
They put in the work. They are — they have a level of urgency knowing there is an opportunity for them to contribute at a high level. They have the capability as well.
Q. Coach, for the longest time Alabama was the face of SEC. Now it’s been three years since the SEC has appeared in the national championship. What do you have to do to get the program back to being the face of the SEC and get the SEC back on top nationally?
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, we always want to have that expectation that you’re referring to. We felt like we righted a wrong a little bit last year compared to the year before with some of the things we accomplished. We also understand we fell short of our expectations internally.
And so every area of the program just has to continue to improve. I guess that’s my experience over the years, is you can see what the bar is at and sometimes you can look and say you’re this close and sometimes you’re further away. Sometimes it’s the perspective and the way you look at it. A coach might look different than a fan or an analyst.
But for us and the way I’ve accomplished it in the past is really challenge every group in the team wherever you’re at to improve. We got to address our weaknesses. Got to make be we continue to keep our strengths in order in who we are, understanding our identity, and continue to learn from those things that have happened to us both good and bad. Be better, you know, and focus on what we can control, and that’s the in next play, next moment, the next game, whatever is in front of us.
Q. Beyond the throwing accuracy and the playbook mastery, what are some of the game management and leadership traits you’re relying on to determine who will get the first snap?
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, poise. A guy that can move the ball up and down the field. I said it earlier, but our quarterbacks do have the belief and trust amongst our entire team. There are different ways where I’ve seen that, whether it was in the spring or through the summer. There are different conversations, different activities that we do where I really can get a good feel of it being genuine, that our team trusts that whoever steps on the football field and takes those snaps is going to be a guy — and I think that’s because they believe in both guys.
You know, the poise, though, that’s hard to create and that’s what we got to do with our entire football team, not just the quarterback position. Putting guys in spots where there is adversity, where there are moments that are tough and challenging, how they process.
But, again that, comes down the poise you got to have. We need the guy that can move the ball up and down the field the most efficiently and effectively and makes the guys around him better. From a character standpoint, a work ethic standpoint, and a production standpoint as I mentioned earlier. These guys have the team, and now it’s just a matter of having to decide which one takes the first snap as you mentioned.
Q. From the outside it looks like you took on an impossible job following Nick Saban. Also looks like you handled it really well. To what degree is that true, and how did you feel personally you’ve handled that situation?
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, I think you can talk about how great of a job Coach Saban did in building the program to what it is and the expectations. I just know my past experiences being part of places that have the pride and tradition on the extreme high level like Alabama would or Alabama has, you know, it would be something I wanted to be a part of.
I love that challenge. I love the internal challenge and the moment of trying to bring a team together to be the best we can be, and I also love the challenge of taking a program and — you know, one year winning a championship is hard. What’s so impressive with what Coach Saban did for so many years is doing it again, because you know everyone is coming after you and everyone will bring their best when they face you on the football field.
So that’s why I understand — what I understand took place and happened here during the great times and Coach Saban leading the charge here. I also love the challenge of trying to continue to build on that and add to this program’s great history.
Q. Do you feel like this Alabama team is flying a little bit under the radar, and is that something you prefer as a coach?
KALEN DEBOER: Yeah, I understand why with a lot of new faces. And that’s okay, you know, because we got to go prove it. We do. We got to go out and get the job done. That’s really how I feel every year. It doesn’t matter how many guys return. Last year we returned I think 16 seniors and we had to go prove it. We had to do some things, not just talk it. We had to go decide what we were going to accomplish, decide and commit to the process, commit to what we needed to do to get it done, and then make sure that action supported the goals we had.
And so this team has a lot of new faces. You know, for us, we felt, again, we took some good steps in the right direction a year ago. Feel like there is a foundation of toughness and resiliency as I mentioned earlier. There is some things we got to continue to get better.
So until we prove it, we understand there will be doubt, because those expectations as we talked about, are extremely high in the program.
Q. Do you think your time at Alabama will be defined by whether you win a national championship?
KALEN DEBOER: I certainly know that’s an important part of what’s happened in the program, so wouldn’t doubt if that’s the case. I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on just helping or program be the best and trying to bring out best and raise the level of everyone around me, from coaching staff to our players; trying to maximize what we’re capable every single day.
Q. My question to you is: What have been your points of emphasis on the offseason so you don’t have the same outcome in the upcoming season?
KALEN DEBOER: The points of emphasis have been to continue to make sure that what we did well, that we continue to emphasize those things and don’t take it for granted.
Again, it all starts over. It’s a whole new team. Just because we did something well last year doesn’t mean it automatically carries over.
And then find our weaknesses and just — everyone continues to talk it; understandably so. We got be able to execute better in the run game. I think that is a mindset that’s something where I feel like we got the talent, we got the schemes, the schematics. We got the people that can pull the trigger on things, whether it’s coaches or players.
We just got to continue to work. That area is going to make our entire team better and help us accomplish the next level of goals and successes that we’re hoping for.
Thank you, Roll Tide.
