What Alabama football mindset looks like for Georgia in SEC championship
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Alabama football is heading to its first SEC championship with Kalen DeBoer as its head coach. And to DeBoer, games like this upcoming title game against Georgia is why he came to Tuscaloosa in the first place. It’s why he wanted to join the Crimson Tide.
“There’s so many great people, coaches, players that have built this program up to what it is with the expectations it has,” DeBoer said. “You’re here to carry that on. You’re here to honor those that came before you and continue to make this place special for someday down the road when players are gone and coaches are gone. Whoever it might be, you want to carry it on, you want to continue to have that legacy of our program be what it is. So conference championships, SEC championships, that’s the staple, that’s a staple in this program.”
Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson has been there before.
Lawson was a freshman when Alabama beat Georgia for an SEC title in 2021. He was a starter for the Crimson Tide when the Crimson Tide beat the Bulldogs for a conference championship in 2023. Lawson knows what to expect.
“Just don’t let the game be bigger than what it is,” Lawson said. “With, kind of, games like this come outside noise or external factors that you don’t want them to get heavily involved in. Just don’t let the game be bigger than what it is. At the end of the day, you still got to control what you can control. And that’s what’s going on between the white lines.”
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said that’s the message for the team as a whole. It’s that singular, insulated focus Lawson was talking about.
“It’s all about us. It’s about nobody else,” Simpson said. “It’s about what we do.”
There’s bigger goals for this Alabama team. DeBoer knows the ultimate goal is a national title. But he’s not looking ahead too far.
“First things first: we got to have the opportunity to go compete for an SEC Championship,” DeBoer said. “One of the top two teams in an extremely strong conference.”
Alabama kicks off against Georgia in the SEC title game at 3 p.m. CT Saturday, Dec. 6 on ABC.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football mindset during SEC championship prep for Georgia
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