Alabama Crimson Tide Football RBR Round Table Discussion

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No intro blah-blah-blah. You know what this is. Let’s get to it.

1. What is the biggest thing on your mind right now about Alabama Football?

BrentTaylor: The biggest thing to me is just seeing what the identity of the team is next year. In my opinion, it will be the first season where Kalen DeBoer truly has his program, and not a frankenzombie of the roster that was left after Saban retired. I think the defense has an identity under Kane Wommack. They have places to improve, of course, but I know what they want to be. But what does the offense want to be? The fans and media have been drilling the coaches about the run game this offseason, but is that just forcing a square peg in a round hole? I don’t know. 
But if they call another trick play on 4th and 1 in their own territory in the 1st quarter again, we riot. 

Joshua Chatham: The offense in general. They are loaded with weapons, but can Keelon be consistent and can the offensive line be competent? I feel pretty good about the defense.

CB: It’s Year 3 for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama. For most programs, the rebuild should be over. Is this team ready to REALLY compete for the Big Beer Tap Trophy?

2. The local beat reporters have been pretty Gumpy on the transfers, particularly the defensive linemen. Are you convinced that the Alabama staff has done enough to become a Top 20 defensive front?

Brent: Hmmm, that’s an interesting question. I think that Devan Thompkins is going to be better than any individual player on Alabama’s front 7 last year. I also think that the depth has improved, especially across the interior. I have high hopes that some combination of big men (both returners and incoming vets Kedrick Bigley-Jones and Terrance Green) will be better at staying in the correct gaps in the run game than what we got from James Smith last year. 
On the other hand, unless Yhonzae Pierre really makes a big step forward, I’m still not sure where the pass rush comes from. I’m not sure I buy that Dez Zulu is going to be a demon on the edge. 
Past that, though, I think this front will get some extra leeway because of the secondary. Even if their pass rush isn’t great, they’ll get a decent bit of production just from the Tide’s secondary being so good and either making QBs hold the ball, or just covering up bad plays from the front by causing incompletions anyway. 
To answer the question, though… No. I think Alabama will be more like a top 25 run defense and maybe a top 60 pass rush. Both improvements over last year, but nothing crazy.

Joshua: Top 20 is a pretty low bar for Alabama.  Yeah, I think they will probably turn out to be at least that good but I’m never convinced of anything until we see it on Saturdays. 

CB: I feel like I have heard this song before. And that has made me skeptical. With A-Day having such limited video availability, it is hard to know if these guys will live up to the hype. I will say, I am encouraged by having a big guy like Terrance Green standing at 6-foot-5, 319 lbs (down from listed 330 at Oregon) to clog up the middle.

3. On the other side of the ball, the offensive line is looking like a ragtag group of transfers and underclassmen. Can they gel and become the kind of unit Crimson Tide fans were used to under Nick Saban (circa 2008-2020)?

Brent: Who knows? Seriously, I have no idea on the offensive line anymore. Maybe a ragtag transfer group is just what the Tide needed. If anything removing as much of the vestiges as possible from what we’ve seen from Alabama’s OL ever since 2021 is probably a good thing. But until we get to the end of the season and things still look good, I won’t be holding too much hope. 

Joshua: Anything is possible but there is much work to do. Realistically, I don’t expect guys who started at Cal Poly and Akron to play as well as the top tier athletes that developed for multiple seasons in the Saban era.

CB: Like most people, I know Michael Carroll is legit. I have been excited about Jackson Lloyd since his recruiting days and anticipate big things from him. I am probably more optimistic about Cal Poly transfer Racin Delgatty at center than most. William Sanders showed some grit last season and probably should have gotten more snaps. Jayvin James playing with the ones was a little unexpected but from what I saw, he looked okay. Individually, I like these guys. But can they come together as a unit? I am not sure. Who will be the leader of this group? Would they follow sophomore Carroll? The rest of the OL are a little on the unknown side, though a lot of them like Nick Brooks have potential.

4. Kalen DeBoer just received a contract extension (through 2033) and a big raise ($12.5M/yr). Thoughts?

Brent: I mean is it really all that different? His initial deal was through 2031, and was already at $11M per year. So I guess there’s a little more guarantee now. It does seem a little weird to tack on two more years on the end of an already long deal after only two seasons. But, on the other hand, it’s hard to point to any coach not named Kirby Smart/Ryan Day who have had more sustained success than DeBoer? Sure Cignetti is all the talk right now, but is he really much more proven than DeBoer at this point? Both coaches made the National Championship once. 
For what it’s worth, I think DeBoer is doing a lot of things well. I like his measured and more long-term approach to roster building, I think he’s an excellent recruiter and evaluator, and I think he’s made some really good coaching hires on defense. He’s also shown a consistent willingness and intent to find ways to fix problems. The offense, though, is what worries me. It’s felt rudderless through two seasons, and lacks confidence in itself. Something there will have to change – whether DeBoer finds that or not may be what makes or breaks his tenure.

Joshua: I think Alabama paid market price. The most recent guy to sign at a blueblood program is usually going to be the highest paid temporarily. 

CB: This was an interesting move by AD Greg Byrne. 2033 is such a distant time. I expect to have my flying car that everyone promised me as a kid by then. On one hand, it is good to lock a guy down so there are no distractions and promote the concept of continuity in the program. It certainly appears that Byrne believes in DeBoer and plans to be patient with the progress. But has KDB earned it? Most people want to point out that he made the CFP and won the first round last season. But he also had four UGLY losses. Additionally, his 2025 Tide team was the 9-seed with four SEC teams ahead of him. Under the old system, this would have likely put Alabama in the the Liberty Bowl. Is that okay?

5. What 2026 game for Alabama scares you the most?

Brent: Florida State. Not because I think Alabama will lose that game… but because if they do, I’m not sure that’s something the program can recover from. And that fact that I don’t fully trust them to not let that happen says a lot. 

Joshua: I don’t really get scared by any game but Georgia and the road trip to LSU are going to be tough sledding.

CB: The easy answer is Georgia (Oct 10). But the trip to Baton Rouge on Nov 7 with Lane Kiffin wanting nothing more than to knock down the team that spurned him in favor of DeBoer will be treacherous.

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