The hire of Kalen DeBoer to replace Nick Saban as Alabama football’s head coach signaled wholesale change in the Crimson Tide’s offensive system. The attack DeBoer led at the University of Washington on his way to a College Football Playoff championship game appearance in January looked nothing at all like the system Tommy Rees directed at Alabama last season as Saban’s last offensive coordinator.
But wholesale change doesn’t necessarily come at warp speed, and as Alabama begins game-week preparations to face Western Kentucky in the season opener at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday (6 p.m. CT, ESPN), DeBoer cautioned that the transition to his system has been incremental, and that game plan must be well-suited to the talent on hand.
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To review, here’s what DeBoer offered on that subject in his introductory press conference in January: “It’s always going to be around our personnel. Yes, we’re going to recruit the best, the highest-character guys, but we’re going to be able to have concepts and systems that are able to be adjusted to what we have and what our strengths are.”
Fast-forward seven months to Monday of Week 1, when I asked DeBoer how much his offensive system at UW had to be adjusted to suit the personnel he inherited: “There are certainly some adjustments that coach (Nick) Sheridan (and) our staff have done in working with the personnel. That will continue to evolve as the season goes along. You have guys who continue to improve, especially younger guys who are taking those next steps. They’ll make those big steps, and you’ll incorporate them. There might be a package at some point that they’re incorporated in, and all the sudden it’s something where they’re a regular player, and maybe even a starter.”
Translation: an offseason of incremental change will keep right on incrementing into the fall. And those who struggle to adjust, by November, might find their snap counts slipping away to those who adjust best.
Alabama had the heaviest offensive line in the SEC last year by more than 20 pounds per man, well-suited for a power running game. The DeBoer system calls on offensive linemen for much more pulling and releasing into space than the Rees system did, not exactly the forte one could expect of Alabama’s bullish 350-pounders. This is why team captain and left guard Tyler Booker dropped more than 20 pounds in the offseason. It’s why center Parker Brailsford’s transfer from Washington was a big win for the lineup. And it’s no doubt part of why the battle waged between Wilkin Formby and Elijah Pritchett for the right tackle role will bleed into the season.
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At quarterback, Jalen Milroe burned defenses last year with a heavy dose of deep shots in the passing game on the way to an SEC title. Along with that came a tendency to hold the ball too long, which made for a sour mix with the offensive line’s struggles in pass protection. DeBoer’s system, with drafted-first-round quarterback Michael Penix, placed more emphasis on getting the ball out quickly and taking the cheaper, safer profits of the short passing game. That’ll be one of Milroe’s biggest adjustments, one he’s no doubt invested much of the offseason in making.
Tight ends will likely be a bigger part of the UA offense as well; more involved in pre-snap motion, more involved in perimeter blocking, more involved in the passing attack.
But a carbon copy of Washington’s offense against WKU? Don’t expect it.
That could take a year or more. But moving further in that direction will only take weeks.
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Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – For those incarcerated in Alabama, there is a path to employment through the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles Re-Entry Program.
The Bureau looks at where someone may live after serving their sentence and starts connecting them with potential employers, while also conducting drug screenings to help ensure employers and communities are getting a safe employee.
“We make sure as they’re moving through our re-entry programs that they’re re-assessed for mental health stability for substance abuse challenges,” said Rebecca Bensema, Assistant Director of Re-entry and Rehabilitation.
Bensema said the agency sits down with inmates to gauge their interests and review their work history to help match them with opportunities.
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Bureau Director Cam Ward explained that there are areas where an individual would be unable to work because of their conviction.
“For example, if I committed check fraud, I’m not going to be able to get a job at the bank. Sex offense… you’re not going to be eligible to work anywhere near kids or sensitive facilities,” Ward said.
Ward said offering job possibilities to people leaving incarceration is key to reducing recidivism and repeat offenses.
“Give the employer all the information and if they want to hire somebody based on their criminal history, let the employer decide, don’t let the government be the one who dictates it,” he said.
The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles says it currently has positions open that people with a criminal background can apply for.
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Alabama football is hosting an impressive group of 2027 recruits throughout this weekend. This is the first of several weekends the Tide will host top recruits for official visits.
So, will Alabama add a commit this weekend? This is very much possible, and there are a few prospects Touchdown Alabama has our eyes on.
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
OKLAHOMA CITY–– UCLA’s home run power made headlines all season, but it was Alabama’s super sluggers who stepped up in the biggest moments on the biggest stage during the Crimson Tide’s opening game of the Women’s College World Series.
No. 1 Alabama was trailing by two runs heading into the fifth inning of Thursday’s game before Alexis Pupillo tied it up with a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame.
The Tide had struggled with runners in scoring position all game, but when Alabama’s home run leader Brooke Wells stepped to the plate with two on in the sixth inning, she made sure that wasn’t going to happen again. In her first ever game at the WCWS, Wells hit one over the right field wall to give Alabama a three-run lead.
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That score would hold as No. 1 Alabama beat No. 8 UCLA 6-3 to move into the winners’ bracket at the WCWS.
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The moment meant a lot for Wells after she went without a hit during the super regional round against LSU. The team rallied around her, and head coach Patrick Murphy put a card in her locker at the beginning of the week.
“It was great to do it for these girls,” Wells said after the game. “These girls are so great. They had my back all last weekend, you know, how he said. It wasn’t the best weekend for me, but they never lost trust in me, they never lost faith in me. Murph gave me a card, the girls picked me up all weekend. I walked in here feeling as confident as ever. Didn’t really cross my mind anything that happened last weekend.”
This is the first trip to the World Series for both Wells and Pupillo as transfers into Alabama. Pupillo is in her final season and has now hit a home run in three straight postseason games and is up to 20 on the season.
“This is the moment that I’ve been waiting for since I was like eight years old,” Pupillo said. “I walked through the gates today, I kind of started tearing up for a second because it just felt surreal. I just remember watching Montana Fouts pitch in the World Series when she threw the perfect game. That moment of me when I was eight years old watching it on the TV, man, I really want to do that.”
Alabama junior ace Jocelyn Briski shut down the UCLA batting order the first time through, but the Bruins bats wouldn’t stay down for long. UCLA rallied for three runs on four hits, including two home runs, in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.
She did not allow another run to the potent UCLA offense over the next four innings. Briski finished with nine strikeouts against a team that does not strike out much.
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“You could see they hit two home runs, we hit two home runs, but the ability to come up with those timely hits with runners on obviously makes a difference,” UCLA coach Kelly Inoyue-Perez said after the game.
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Coming into the matchup, Alabama knew UCLA would score. It just wanted to limit the damage, and Briski was able to do that.
Jena Young set the tone for the offense at the top of the lineup, reaching base four times with three hits. She scored in the first inning on an RBI-single from Alabama’s senior captain Marlie Giles, Pupillo’s home run and on the Wells’ home run in the sixth inning.
Alabama (55-7) will face the winner of Thursday night’s game between No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Arkansas on Saturday. Winning the first game sets the tone for the rest of the series and makes the path a lot smoother. Around 90 percent of previous college softball national champions win their opening game at the WCWS.
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