The Kalen DeBoer era at Alabama officially began on Monday when the Crimson Tide held its first practice under the new head coaching.
Shortly after DeBoer took over following the 17 seasons of Nick Saban’s successes, change was rapid and often in Tuscaloosa both on the roster and coaching staff.
With so much change in the three short months, DeBoer has been on the job, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if it also happened on the depth chart as well, namely at the quarterback position.
When speaking with the media following practice, DeBoer was clear that competition will be important not only at the quarterback position but throughout Alabama’s entire roster. But at least for today, there weren’t any major changes at quarterback as Milroe took the first-team reps.
“Yeah, you want competition right? The competitions always going to be there,” DeBoer said. “Someone had to take the first reps today with the ones when we lined up and we referred to them as that and Jalen did. So he’s putting everything into that he can along with the other guys that took first reps.
“I fully expect those guys that are really hungry to be pushing those guys that are ahead of them to be their best. That’s what you want in a football program. That certainly can be the case here with so many football players here wanting to get on the football field.”
Also returning in the quarterback room is redshirt sophomore Ty Simpson who competed with Milroe for the starting job a season ago and redshirt freshmen Dylan Lonergan and Austin Mack who transferred from Washington during the offseason.
Regardless of a public battle or not, Alabama will have 14 practices to impress the staff and learn the new systems implemented by DeBoer’s staff.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
