Alabama Coach Kalen DeBoer Press Conference | Western Kentucky Week

When Nick Saban had the opportunity to watch one of Alabama‘s scrimmages this fall, it’s as if he never left.

He saw the same culture within Kalen DeBoer‘s palyers as he did with his own. Saban said this year’s Crimson Tide squad plays with toughness, great effort, execute well and have good discipline — everything Saban looked for in his group on yearly basis.

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“I think Coach [Saban] certainly pushed that standard each and every day and fortunately we have a lot of guys who understand what that’s supposed to look like,” DeBoer said on Monday. “It’s great that we have those leaders, our players, we have some staff, a few coaches that were here with Coach and they just continue to be front and center in leading the rest of the guys that are new to the program or new players that have come in. It’s something we care for a lot with the culture of our program. It’s important to me.

“There’s a style of play that wins football games and that’s really what we’re focused on, but there’s a lot of details and a lot of things off the field that are really important to playing at the highest level and being this program that’s been at that level for so many years and so many decades. I appreciate those comments from Coach and that perspective.”

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Saban, who revealed his perspective during his debut as an analyst on ESPN College GameDay over the weekend, praised DeBoer for the job he’s been able to do to keep the culture going despite having to compensate for the talent lost to the NCAA transfer portal.

The former Crimson Tide headman said that he was impressed by the defensive effort from DeBoer’s team despite having his worries coming into the scrimmage. “They’re gonna be right up there challenging people,” he said.

Saban was reaffirmed in his confidence with Alabama’s offense during the outing as well. Jalen Milroe returns as a second-year starter in Tuscaloosa, while the seven-time national championship-winning coach was pleased with what he saw from the O-Line and skill positions under new offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan.

The Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa will officially be underway on Aug. 31 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium when they host Western Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET live on ESPN.

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.

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.

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.

Hope you enjoyed that tiny taste of fall last week. This week summer returns in full force.

The National Weather Service is forecasting temperatures to again climb to near 100 degrees in parts of Alabama starting today. And highs in the mid- to upper 90s will be possible through the week.

The weather service noted that models have backed off ever so slightly with their temperature forecasts, but it will still be very warm, even warmer than average for late August.

Parts of the state will initially have a little drier air to help deal with the heat. However, the weather service isn’t ruling out the chance for a stray shower of storm, especially the farther south you go.

Humidity levels are expected to rise statewide by the end of the week, and more places will have low chances of seeing those stray showers starting on Wednesday and increasing more over the weekend.

There were no heat advisories in effect on Monday, but that could change later this week.

The hottest part of the state today is expected to be on the west side, where areas from Muscle Shoals to Mobile are expected to reach the mid- to upper 90s. Eastern Alabama will be slightly cooler, with highs expected to reach the low to mid-90s (today’s forecast is at the top of this post).

The weather service thinks temperatures will stay lodged in the mid- to upper 90s across a large part of the state through the week before backing off a bit in time for the Labor Day weekend.

Highs on Saturday will be a bit more reasonable, only in the lower to mid-90s statewide. Below is the forecast for Saturday, Aug. 31:

The weather service also expects the chance for typical, scattered afternoon showers and storms to increase over the weekend for more of the state.

Will the hotter-than-average temperatures hang around past this week? Forecast trends are suggesting they could.

The six- to 10-day temperature outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center shows there will be a higher probability of above-average temperatures across Alabama going into the first few days of September:

But, there is some hope for relief after that. The eight- to 14-day temperature outlook shows that a change could be coming:

The temperature outlook for Sept. 2 through Sept. 8 shows slightly increased chances for below-average temperatures for north Alabama, with near normal conditions for the central part of the state.

South Alabama will still be facing chances for above-average heat, however.