Alabama football has a talented team under a new head coach, but there is something different about this group versus the last three teams under Nick Saban.
Kalen DeBoer sees a hunger with this team to show everyone Alabama is still the standard.
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The rosters that were champions under Saban were those that bonded together and were player led. Saban saw his groups in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020 spend time with each other. Alabama had a togetherness that made Bpsi Phi mentally defeat opponents before the opening kickoff. Has the Crimson Tide returned to that level of dominance? It looked great in fall camp as it now prepares to open its season next Saturday versus Western Kentucky. A veteran defensive lineman spoke to the media this week about what makes the team a national championship caliber one. He said the group is unified more than ever.
Tim Smith, a 5th-year Senior on Alabama’s DL, speaks on the importance of brotherhood for this year’s team.
He mentions how the national champions in the past all bonded with each other.@TDAlabamaMag @TouchdownETP pic.twitter.com/t70Epif5pr
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) August 21, 2024
“I’m actually trying to get guys to hang out,” Alabama defensive lineman Tim Smith said.
“Some things I try to preach to them is just like, if you guys were to pay attention to every team that won the Natty, all those guys had a real bond with each other, brotherhood. They are out there playing for each other, with each other, celebrating with each other. So that is something I’ve been trying to instill into those guys.”
Smith, a fifth-year senior, wants this team to think of its time together as more than football.
“We don’t gotta just sit around and talk football every day,” he said.
“We can come over to my crib, we chill, watch TV, we can cook, get on the grill. So just getting those guys to understand, you know what I am saying? We are in Tuscaloosa, in Alabama to have a job, we have a job to do. But at the same time, you are going to miserable going through life the whole time, just so serious. You got to have some type of enjoyment, some type of chill, relax.”
Smith is pleased with how Alabama’s defensive line and team has taken to his mindset.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
