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Saturday’s spring game begins one of the most pivotal seasons in modern Alabama football history as the Crimson Tide look to defend their place as one of the premier programs in the sport without Nick Saban, arguably the greatest coach in the sport’s history. Kalen DeBoer understood the gravity of following in Saban’s wake, or he would not have accepted the job after leading Washington all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2023. The annual A-Day scrimmage provides our first look at how DeBoer’s team and program might look similar, and also different, to the Alabama teams of year’s past.
This is not the first time DeBoer has faced a pivotal spring practice, and if previous examples are any indication, it’s a good sign for Alabama’s future with him at the helm. When DeBoer took over at Washington heading into the 2022 season, he inherited a roster that had been shellshocked by a rapid drop from the top of the Pac-12 to a four-win season. Many of those veterans understood that transferring out was an option, but DeBoer only asked for a chance in the spring to prove that he and his staff could lead the Huskies back to the top. Many took him up on that offer and eventually became the fifth- and sixth-year leaders who were the face of Washington’s run all the way to last year’s title game.
But this spring practice carries even more weight. DeBoer is not taking over a Washington program that slipped from a Chris Petersen-established standard. He’s taking over an Alabama program that totaled six national championships under Saban and just last year won its ninth SEC Championships since 2009. DeBoer is a proven winner, but his challenge is not to save a program; it is to maintain the Tide’s status atop the sport. That…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/alabama-spring-game-2024-what-to-expect-as-crimson-tide-transition-to-kalen-deboer-from-nick-saban/
Author : Chip Patterson
Publish date : 2024-04-12 18:14:55
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