Kalen DeBoer talks offensive line, penalties and more after USF win

Alabama football pulled off the closest 42-16 victory in football history on Saturday, beating South Florida in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide played poorly for most of the way, only pulling away late in the fourth quarter, on the night the field was named for Nick Saban.

Many of the problems stemmed from penalties and poor offensive line play for Alabama. The Crimson Tide will be back in action next week at Wisconsin.

After the game, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is set to chat with local reporters in Tuscaloosa. Follow along here for live updates once DeBoer takes to the microphone.

— DeBoer starts out by tipping his cap to USF. Says there’s a list of things the Crimson Tide has to clean up going forward. Says he told the team in the locker room that it should learn the lessons from what went right late in the game.

— Says Alabama players need to do better job preventing fumbles. Says he’s excited for the challenge going forward and teams “need games like this.”

— Asked what the Tide does in practice to eliminate turnovers. DeBoer says UA works on that heavily on Tuesdays. Says its a point of emphasis every week, and players need to learn to tuck the ball away better while making big plays.

— Asked about not playing Elijah Pritchett until late. DeBoer says Tide was trying to rest him due to minor injury. Says Alabama should be in better shape offensive-line wise for next week’s game in Madison.

— Question is what he saw late when game turned in Tide’s favor. Says Alabama has to learn lessons about avoiding penalties. Credits Alabama being less sloppy for the turnaround. Says Tide didn’t have to sustain drives last week against Western Kentucky, and that will be key going forward.

— Asked how often he gets heated with the officials. Said he understands game getting called tight, and he was just trying to make sure everybody was held accountable. Acknowledges that most of the calls were right.

— DeBoer is asked about Jam Miller’s passion at running back. Says Miller is usually quiet, but gets amped up in big moments for games. Praises Miller’s running ability, particularly on his late touchdown.

— Asked about young players like Ryan Williams and Jaylen Mbakwe making big plays late. Says Alabama’s foundation is older players who have been in the program. Says he loved Jalen Milroe’s confidence to make big throw to Williams on a hitch that led to a touchdown. Praises Mbakwe’s confidence as well.

— Questioned about Tyler Booker’s play at left tackle and if not having him at guard limited Alabama in run game. Says Alabama wasn’t on same page with certain things, but Booker provides impact wherever he’s playing, and he was confident in Booker’s ability at tackle.

— Says Cole Adams had an arm injury and Alabama will need to evaluate going forward.

— Asked what solid finish said about Crimson Tide. Says he’ll never question Alabama’s want-to. Says there were players straining to make plays, sometimes too much. Says Alabama should have less of that, more just “staying in the fight.” Says he’s proud of late effort.