Jumbo Package: Kalen DeBoer pleased with QB consistency at first fall practice
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Happy Thursday, everyone. We have our first practice report of the season, which is great news in and of itself. The team hasn’t yet put pads on, but Kalen DeBoer is pleased with what he sees from his passers.
I thought they were consistent,” DeBoer said. “Couple of explosive plays in there. Couple plays where you could see them getting on the same page with a receiver-type guy. … Just little details. So, I thought they were consistent and loved the demeanor. Loved their command. When they’re into it, you can see the belief the guys have in them.”
For Mack and Russell, who each carry less experience than Simpson had when he was named as a first-time starter in 2025, this is the floor in terms of what DeBoer needs from whoever will take the first snaps against East Carolina and whoever will take the most snaps overall in 2026.
“We talk about response,” DeBoer said. “Someone’s going to want to play every down, right? So it’s going to be something when you’re going against each other. You just try and make that as game like as possible. What’s the response? That’s a live football and momentum: getting it on your side and keeping it on your side.”
Kalen was also asked about the offensive line, though it’s tough to glean much from these early sessions.
DeBoer on how he sees the new faces on the offensive line catching up
“I thought it looked a lot better and cleaner than what it did at the end of spring. Again, we don’t have pads on, so it’s really hard to tell. But I thought that from responsibilities and just, again, there’s got to be a trust that exists. It isn’t just doing your job. It’s knowing where that help is coming from. Is it the double team and the footwork and being in sync? And you can rep a lot of those things and make sure you’re on the same page this summer, and you can tell the guys have been working at that and being intentional that way, too.”
It’s not surprising that the loaded secondary is providing the “swagger” for the team at the moment.
“Bray [Hubbard] definitely,” DeBoer said after practice. “Z[abien] B[rown] does it. He’s not as vocal, but man, he’s got this presence about him and this way. It’s just a great one-two punch there. I think those guys on defense have really brought along others. Dijon. The experience in the secondary is kind of where it starts. That swagger, that’s where it starts.”
Alabama brought in multiple players on the defensive line from the portal in USC transfer Devan Thompkins, Oregon transfer Terrance Green and Mississppi State transfer Kedrick Bingley-Jones.
“And then with the new guys joining in with the returners in the front seven, you can see more of that building,” DeBoer said. “Guys who have played a lot of snaps fro us in the past and some of the transfers who we expect to also be key performers for us that again, I think, have done a great job of meshing. You know, probably this one of the one of words I’ve used is just meshing with the rest of the group.”
Bill Connelly has Keelon Russell listed as one of college football’s most important players this season.
1. Keelon Russell, Alabama. I’ve been giving this answer away all offseason. Russell was one of 2025’s top prospects and spent a redshirt year watching everything Ty Simpson had to do to carry the weakest Alabama offense in years to the College Football Playoff. Now he has to do the same with an even less proven skill corps and a brand-new offensive line. Recruiting rankings tell us there’s plenty of raw talent here, and the Bama run game can’t get any worse than it was in 2025. But while Russell hasn’t even officially won the job yet, he might be the only guy with the upside to drive this offense to solid heights. If he’s not awesome, Alabama probably isn’t either.
I get the logic, but it’s another assumption that Austin Mack doesn’t have upside. Folks tend to fall in love with recruiting rankings. Never mind the fact that the last two first overall picks in the NFL Draft weren’t even blue chip prospects out of high school while can’t-miss Quinn Ewers almost went undrafted. It’s obvious that Keelon has loads of talent, but we just haven’t seen enough from either of them to make any proclamations.
John Trice of USA Today has Alabama as the most overrated team in the coaches’ poll.
The Crimson Tide lost 15 starters, 10 of them NFL Draft picks from 2025, including first-round selections Kadyn Proctor (No. 12) and QB Ty Simpson (No. 13). That specific loss, plus significant departures along an underperforming OL, and a very demanding schedule makes the odds long the 11th-ranked Tide return to the CFP. They have a five-game-in-six-weeks stretch that goes: at Mississippi State (Oct. 3), home against preseason No. 3 Georgia (Oct. 10), at No. 18 Tennessee (Oct. 17), home against No. 8 Texas A&M (Oct. 24) and at No. 13 LSU (Nov. 7).
If you are reading this, odds are you’re already a college football junkie who wouldn’t dare miss an October Saturday. Still, Jake Trotter at ESPN cites two particular upcoming weekends where you’ll want to hunker down and watch some ball.
Save the dates: Oct. 10 and Oct. 17
Let’s hope nobody you know is getting married on either of these Saturdays.
On Oct. 10, Oklahoma and Texas clash in Dallas, Georgia visits Alabama and USC goes to State College for first-year Penn State coach Matt Campbell’s first big test.
Oct. 17, however, might even be worse for a wedding.
Ohio State travels to Indiana in a rematch of the Big Ten title game, the Crimson Tide visit rival Tennessee, Notre Dame heads to BYU, Florida State and Miami square off and the Nittany Lions visit the Big House in Ann Arbor.
Other notable Oct. 17 matchups: Auburn-Georgia, Arizona State-Texas Tech, Florida-Texas, Missouri-Ole Miss, Kansas-Kansas State, TCU-Baylor, Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech and North Carolina-Duke.
Last, the Akron Zips are going to let a fan help call some plays.
TMZ Sports talked to Moorhead on Monday, who said the idea — which rocked social media — came straight from the athletic department … who knocked on his door a few days ago with the wild proposal.
“I was busy, unironically enough, scripting some plays for fall camp practice and came to me with the idea of a promotion that would allow a raffle winner to be a part of our game planning process,” Moorhead told us.
“And, you know, obviously I was a bit hesitant and skeptical, not having heard this before, but the more we talked about it, you know, we decided to give it a go.”
The lucky season ticket holder will help call the plays on the Zips’ opening drive of the season opener.
If nothing else, they got some attention out of this and that’s what promotions are designed to do.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
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