“Will DeBoer succeed at Bama?”. This was a question Stephen A. Smith had noted would be the top story in CFB. He ain’t wrong. Kalen DeBoer has taken over a team that was headed by the best SEC record holder, Nick Saban. While DeBoer’s portfolio of over 100 matches and taking a team (Sioux Falls) to 3 championship wins, should be enough to prove that he is up for the job, people still love to doubt. However, DeBoer has an ace up his sleeve; QB Jalen Milroe. When the kid was under Saban, he was already making splashes. With his performance in 2023, Milroe managed to lock in over 20+ TDs and over 3200 yards. Not only that, he also had a solid completion rate of around 60%.

However, now as the season opener against Kentucky inches closer, Milroe has decided that he is going to give his all to focus on daily improvement. On August 28th, BamaCentral posted on YouTube the pre-WKU press conference. When a reporter asked Milroe what his goal was for this season, the kid had a solid answer. “I’ll say, you know, our goal ultimately is each game that goes by. We need to get better,” Milroe noted. This would be a solid approach towards the season. Milroe noted that with every passing game, he and the boys aim to hone their skills even more and be better for the next match. We have already seen what the kid is capable of when he is in the right hands. After DeBoer took over the team, Milroe’s presence had drastically increased. Being an offensive mind, Deboer was the perfect pairing for Milroe. This allowed the kid to increase his accuracy to over 70%. Not only that, during the scrimmage, we saw him land a 50+ yard TD, alongside Ryan Williams.

And if we move on from the offense, don’t think that DeBoer has not paid any attention to the team’s defensive end. The first major thing DeBoer did was grab Keon Sabb from Michigan. That kid led the Wolverines to a solid season last year and could be the best asset for DeBoer and the Tides this year. More so because he will be paired up with veteran Malachi Moore. Moore has been around since Saban was the HC at Bama. That kid knows the ins and outs of the defense. Under DC Kane Wommack, the defense is looking quite strong. All of this makes you think that Kalen DeBoer was probably the best person to pick to spearhead a team that was once carried by Nick Saban. While DeBoer’s playbook might be different, he sort of is the “Tiger Woods” of college football and knows how to get things done. However, the biggest question is, will all of this be enough to grab the win against WKU?

DeBoer’s Tides vs WKU

Hilltoppers are somewhat of an oddity when it comes down to forming their roster. They have managed to alter their offense every year and have used the transfer portal to make up a roster that DeBoer would not be similar to. However, the Tides do have a secret weapon against this. Coach Bryan Ellis was someone who served as the offensive coordinator for the Hilltoppers back in 2019 and 2020.

That guy is now on DeBoer’s staff. Working as the tight ends coach, Ellis knows how his former team functions. WKU’s HC Tyson Helton himself had acknowledged that Ellis could give Tides and DeBoer somewhat of an edge. “They’re going to know some of the things,” Hilton had noted during an interview. DeBoer will have the knowledge of some of the play callings and the verbiage because of Ellis. However, August 31st is going to show us who comes out on top.