Kalen DeBoer reacts to first experience as Alabama head coach on gameday
After being hired to replace the legendary Nick Saban, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer was finally able to coach his first game at Bryant-Denny Stadium and earned a win by a score of 63-0 over Western Kentucky.
Following the game, Deboer shared his thoughts on his first gameday experience at Alabama. In particular, he highlighted the Walk of Champions before the game.
“It was a lot of fun,” Kalen DeBoer said. “The Walk of Champions I think was special for a lot of our players. It’s always going to be that way. Can’t thank our fans enough. You can just feel the energy before you’re not even here around the stadium or knowing what’s going on, but you can just feel the buzz. That was a lot of fun.”
Ultimately, it’s moments around the game, like the Walk of Champions, that help to make college football special, connecting fans to the team. It’s a moment that both the athletes and the fans are able to get something from.
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“The new guys, I think especially enjoyed it,” DeBoer said. “The older guys, just knowing what it’s all about and being in that stadium tonight e did a great job of giving them something to cheer for, and our fans were amazing. Cheering and being loud. I can’t wait to do it again a week from now.”
The game itself was never in doubt. By halftime, the Crimson Tide had a 42-0 lead as they took care of business in Kalen DeBoer’s explosive offense. In particular, quarterback Jalen Milroe threw for 200 yards on nine pass attempts with three touchdowns. He also ran for 79 yards and another two touchdowns.
It was a game that DeBoer admitted he found some fun in watching from the sidelines, particularly by the end of the game.
“I think there’s a little bit of fun there at the very end and just seeing a lot of the young guys, too, get out there on the football field and have some fun of their own and experience it for the first time. But I told the guys in the locker room, none of these points carry over to next week. There’s film out there and, of course, there’s strengths we have, but people are gonna look at the areas that they can attack and we’ve gotta continue to just understand that there’s a lot of potential with this football team but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. It’s gonna be that way all season long,” DeBoer said.
“I think what I saw in the locker room downstairs, whether it was the beginning of the game, the middle of the game when we had a score very much in our favor, these guys have a determination and a relentlessness about them where they want to be great. They just don’t want to go out there and do their thing for a half and just kind of let the score die off and let someone hang around. They want the shutout. They want to put more points on the board and I just love their mindset.”
Next week, Alabama will look to repeat that home success when the Crimson Tide host the USF Bulls.
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