We're not in the Nick Saban era anymore. Alabama opened its first spring camp under Kalen DeBoer this week, and the differences between the first-year head coach and his predecessor couldn't be more apparent than on the practice field.
Featuring loud music and a frenetic pace, DeBoer's practices offer a different vibe than Saban's old workouts. After the media got its first taste of the changes during an open-viewing period Wednesday, Crimson Tide players discussed the differences in the varying styles.
“It’s been fun, everybody we have has a lot of great energy,” safety Malachi Moore said. “A lot of new ideas that they bring to the table. It’s really nice just to get a different perspective on how to view the game and I think it’s going to make us well overall.”
Returning for his final year, Moore is one of many leaders on the team and a prominent member of the secondary as well. After being under Saban for the last four seasons, the veteran defender is already adjusting to his new staff.
Another key returnee for Alabama was redshirt junior linebacker Deontae Lawson. Following the departure of All-American linebacker Dallas Turner, Lawson will now be calling the shots for the defensive unit, along with adjusting to a new defensive coordinator, Kane Wommack.
“I think the biggest thing is getting guys into position to make plays,” Lawson said. “We’re playing free, it’s not too complicated where you have to think so much so you can really dial into your key and play as fast as you can.”
After having an established style of practice and preparation set up for nearly two decades, it can be tough for both players and coaches to adjust and respond. However, for the players, it hasn’t taken too long.
“The first workout or the first meeting was like oh yeah, reality is setting in,” redshirt junior Tim Keenan III said. “For the most part, I'm definitely excited to go on this journey with coach DeBoer and be successful and go win ball.”
However, in just two days, players have also seen a variety of changes during the actual practice layout. Perhaps the most notable change comes in the music.
“It’s like a ball game, it definitely helps when you’re in the ending period and you just did your rep and you can catch the song,” Keenan said. “For the most part, if we’re on the field, we’re pretty much locked in to trying to get the call and execute to the best of our abilities.”
Not only is the music a new feature in Alabama football practices, but the actual layout and position drills are different too. Since DeBoer is a more offensive minded head coach, he tends to work with the offense, whereas Saban worked with the defense more.
“It’s kind of funny, you see coach Saban doing DB drills, getting into fades and backpedaling,” Keenan said. “Then, you look over and see this 6-foot-5 tall guy line up at receiver. I really want to see if it was back in coach Saban’s prime, who would win one one-on-one?”
Another change for the defense is that there are now two defensive back coaches, Maurice Linguist and Colin Hitschler, as opposed to just a single one in years past.
“It’s a little different because I’m used to everyone being in the same room,” Moore said. “The corners are in the other room so it’s a little different, but once you get out on the field it kind of makes sense so we can cover our stuff and just talk about the stuff that the safeties and the corners handle their situations, but when we both come on the field we both know each other’s jobs.”
In just two days of practicing, there have already been several differences between the two coaches and their styles of preparation. With 13 practices remaining in the spring, there is still a lot of time left for the veterans and the new faces to adjust to a new style and a new era in Tuscaloosa.
