Kalen DeBoer details areas where Alabama must improve this season

Alabama Football Head Coach Kalen DeBoer during practice Spring Practice at Thomas-Drew Practice Fields in Tuscaloosa, AL on Tuesday, Mar 10, 2026.

Kalen DeBoer spoke with reporters for roughly 18 minutes following Alabama’s second spring practice on Tuesday. The head coach’s longest answer from the media availability came after he was asked where his team needs to make improvements. 

DeBoer’s response lasted two minutes and 41 seconds and spanned 500 words, as he discussed areas he’s looking to focus on with his team this offseason. Here’s the laundry list of improvements the head coach laid out. 

Staying disciplined 

DeBoer started his answer by naming a major improvement Alabama made last season. After ranking 123rd nationally with 69.1 penalty yards per game during DeBoer’s debut season in 2024, the Crimson Tide were the least penalized team in the SEC last year, averaging just 39.7 yards per game. 

“Two years ago, we — and I don’t think we were necessarily undisciplined — there was just a lot of moving pieces and a lot of guys probably overthinking, a step slow, and now you get a holding call, defensive passing interference,” DeBoer said. “But we went from one of the bottom teams in the league penalty-wise to the best, so that’s got to stay a strength.” 

Turnover margin 

As far as improvements from last season, the first one DeBoer noted was turnover margin, where Alabama ranked tied for 21st nationally, coming up with seven more takeaways than turnovers. While that’s not a bad number, Alabama was punished during times when it failed to win the turnover margin. That includes losses to Oklahoma (three turnovers, no takeaways), Georgia (one turnover, no takeaways) and Indiana (one turnover, no takeaways).

“We didn’t have the peaks and the valleys like we did the year before, so I think we ended up fourth in the conference in turnover margin,” DeBoer said. “We can still be better there, we have to be better, but we made a lot of strides.” 

Offensive improvement 

When it comes to offense, there’s a lot to fix from last year. Alabama ranked No. 84 nationally, averaging 367.7 yards per game. That included a dismal running game, that ranked 125th nationally, averaging just 104.13 yards per game on the ground. 

DeBoer praised Alabama’s ability to convert in crucial moments and end-of-half situations. The Tide will now look to maintain that poise throughout games moving forward. 

“A lot of were won with our guys executing, playing fast, that’s a trust and belief,” DeBoer said. “So you’ve got to make sure those strengths are there. Execution, when it comes to upfront and being able to run the football. I don’t think there’s any secret about that, we’ve got to do a better job there. That’s going to open up the rest of our offense.”

Defensive improvement 

Alabama combined to force just one takeaway in its four losses last season. The Tide also ranked around the middle of the pack in the SEC when it came to sacks. DeBoer noted both areas as key focuses on defense. 

“Defensively, we dropped a little bit in our takeaways,” DeBoer said. “We still did a good job. I think we created more pressure. We wanted to take the next steps in that area where we can get even more pressure on the quarterback, and maybe do it without having to dial up blitzes as much and guys just winning with their technique, because of their understanding and trust that they’ve got guys on the other side, guys that push up the middle that can be generated to put pressure on a quarterback.”

Special teams improvement

Alabama fans don’t need to be reminded about the Tide’s struggles on special teams last year. 

Those woes were highlighted in the kicking game, where Conor Talty went 16 of 23 (69.6%) on field-goal attempts while missing three kicks inside 40 yards out. Alabama wasn’t much better at punting, where Blake Doud averaged just 42.33 yards per boot. Outside specialists, DeBoer also noted a need for improvement in the coverage and return teams. 

“Special teams is an area where we had a lot of turnover without specialists in particular, but also the guys that were making tackles and making blocks from year one to year two, 24 to 25, a lot of new faces in those areas,” DeBoer said when talking about last season. “So some more familiarity with guys who are out there. Not just the specialists, but also the guys got to go down and cover. I think in our return game is a scenario we can definitely improve on. We had some one-offs punt return and a kick return. 

“I think about Wisconsin, I think about Oklahoma where there’s a punt return and a kick return where we fell short. We were pretty solid other than that, but it’s those one plays here or there that we can’t give up. Just taking those next steps in all those areas, making sure that our strengths are what they are is really what you’re honing in on and making sure you never take anything for granted.”