Reading between the lines on Kalen DeBoer at Alabama

Skepticism is a little bit higher surrounding first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer after Alabama’s week two game against the USF Bulls. Although the Tide won the game 42-16, it was not as easy as the final score looked with the Bulls trailing the Tide by a point early in the four quarter before being outscored 28-3 to end the game.

In the week two contest, the Tide had eight penalties in the first half and 13 total. The lack of discipline is something that was not often seen under previous head coach Nick Saban who won six national championships in his 17 years with the Tide.

While Tide fans have reason to be skeptical about DeBoer as does any fan base in year one with a new head coach, I wanted to take a step back to read between the lines some on positives surrounding DeBoer. Beyond his overall record as a head coach that he came to Tuscaloosa with of 104-12, DeBoer is also known as a great developer of talent.

DeBoer’s ability to develop talent should be no more evident that in 2023 when he led the Washington Huskies to a College Football Playoff appearance. His quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. was a Heisman Trophy finalist and his offensive line won the Joe Moore award.

These are more obvious signs that DeBoer gets the most out of his players, but I wanted to read between the lines a bit more as I stated in other positive signs one may not realize. These signs are that players that have played for DeBoer before are following him wherever he goes. Here are some individual situations where that holds true.

Players that followed Kalen DeBoer

Michael Penix Jr.

This is by the far the most telling situation in my opinion. Quarterback, Penix Jr. and DeBoer first united at Indiana University in 2019 when DeBoer spent one year there as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the Hoosiers.

Penix Jr. would play in six games that year for the Hoosier’s and throw for 1,394 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Penix Jr. would have the highest completion percentage of his career that season at 68.8 percent.

DeBoer would leave Indiana after 2019, but the pair would reunite with the Washington Huskies in 2022 after DeBoer took the head coaching job and Penix Jr. opted to transfer.

The new transfer portal rules that were in effect as of 2021 meant that Penix Jr. could transfer and play immediately under DeBoer, which he did. In two seasons in Washington, Penix Jr. threw for 9,544 yards, 67 touchdowns and only 19 interceptions.

Not only did this make Penix Jr. a Heisman Trophy Finalist in 2023, but it propelled him to be a first-round draft pick with the Atlanta Falcons.

Parker Brailsford

Center and snap issues were an area that plagued the Tide all season long in 2023. DeBoer aside, Brailsford was the starting center on the best offensive line in the country with the Washington Huskies in 2023 where he started 11 of 13 games at the position. The center is known as the captain of the offensive line and serves as the anchor for fluidity for the unit in the eyes of many.

Now bringing DeBoer into the equation here, this is yet another example of a premier player deciding to follow DeBoer to another destination in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer could have easily stayed at Washington under new head coach Jedd Fisch who had just turned around an Arizona Wildcats program. The fact that he decided to follow DeBoer should be a positive sign that he trusts this coach more than no other with developing him.

Germie Bernard

Bernard is probably the least known of the three as he was not a primary wide receiver option for the Huskies in 2023 for DeBoer. He did however catch 34 passes for 419 yards. Bernard flashed in Alabama’s spring game connecting with quarterback Jalen Milroe on several passes including a deep throw that went over 50 yards.

This is another player that followed DeBoer. In this instance Alabama is actually the third school Bernard has played for in three years. Bernard played for Michigan State in 2021 before transferring to play for DeBoer in the Huskies. Like Brailsford, Bernard could have easily stayed at Washington, or gone anywhere else besides Tuscaloosa to play for DeBoer again once DeBoer took the job with the Tide. The fact that he decided to follow his coach is a good sign, and that sign showed it made a lot of sense in the spring game.

Bernard has caught five passes for 70 yards in his first two game for the Tide this season, and fans should expect much more to come for the up-and-coming DeBoer product.

Players follow coaches

As with any player, players do not opt to follow coaches wherever they go if they had a negative experience. The fact that these three decided to do so is a positive sign for the Tide. Unlike any player with the Crimson Tide, these three individuals can say they spent and were loyal to DeBoer in more than one place.

A last and somewhat different example is Alabama offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor. Proctor was a five-star recruit of previous head coach Nick Saban that opted to transfer back home to Iowa where he was from shortly after Nick Saban’s retirement this past offseason. Proctor however made the decision to re-join the program under DeBoer.

Reading between the lines here, it is obvious to me that Proctor talked to his then former teammates in Tuscaloosa who had by that point had some experience with DeBoer as their head coach and convinced him that things were trending in a positive direction.

Friends will be friends, right? I say that to say it is not like Proctor’s teammates would have told him to come back if the culture and happenings were not how they should be for a player to develop in Tuscaloosa. The fact that Proctor opted to come back should tell us everything we need to know.

Time will have to tell, but I’m holding firm on the developer of talent, positive culture and production trend here with DeBoer. These four examples should tell us more than we need to know that that will hold true. So, hang tight Tide fans. Good things will continue to happen in Tuscaloosa.