It has not taken long for Kalen DeBoer to establish himself in a college football program.
In Year 2 of his stops at Sioux Falls , Fresno State and Washington, DeBoer has had two seasons of 10 wins or more, two conference championships, two national championship appearances and a national championship.
After a 9-4 first season with Alabama football , expectations for DeBoer remain sky high.
Here are the main questions that circle DeBoer's second season with the Crimson Tide ahead of its 2025 opener Aug. 30 at Florida State.
The key question surrounding Alabama in the second year of the DeBoer era comes at quarterback. With Jalen Milroe off to the NFL, who will be behind center in the Crimson Tide 's season opener against Florida State ?
Ty Simpson , the former five-star quarterback out of Martin, Tennessee, is widely viewed as the favorite heading into his fourth season with the program, having waited behind both Bryce Young and Milroe for starter's reps and working as Milroe's direct backup for the past two seasons.
But Simpson is not the only quarterback in the running.
Austin Mack , a former four-star quarterback out of Loomis, California, was DeBoer's first transfer addition in 2024, following the head coach from Washington. The 6-foot-6, 236-pound signal caller is also the only quarterback not named Milroe to have thrown a touchdown pass for the Crimson Tide in the past two seasons.
Keelon Russell , the Texas five-star in the 2025 class and Crimson Tide early enrollee, could also be under consideration as Alabama's highest-ranked quarterback signee since Young.
For an offensive-minded head coach known for his quarterback development in DeBoer, Alabama's success or failures in 2025 will rest on whichever quarterback he picks for those first reps in Tallahassee.
As a Division I head coach, DeBoer has seemingly developed a floor for his offenses: at least 30 points and 400 yards of offense per game.
It's a mark he reached in his two seasons at Fresno State and his two seasons at Washington, well exceeding those numbers in 2022 when the Huskies averaged 39.7 points and 515.8 yards per game. He reached the 30-point and 400-yard mark again with Alabama, but barely, recording his lowest yardage totals since he was the offensive coordinator at Fresno State in 2017.
At Alabama, these larger point and yardage targets are decided by much more specific questions: Is the quarterback DeBoer picks serviceable? Can Alabama respond after a late-season regression in the run game? Will the Crimson Tide have an answer at wide receiver other than Ryan Williams or Germie Bernard ? Will Alabama have stability on the offensive line at positions such as left guard or right tackle?
With another season under DeBoer's system, success should be expected, which would be a sign of good things all around for the Crimson Tide.
In his Division I career, DeBoer has not had a better defense than the one he had with Kane Wommack in 2024.
Under Wommack's tutelage, the "ball-hawking" Crimson Tide allowed 17.4 points per game — 10th best in college football — and 320.1 total yards per game. It was DeBoer's best defense since his 2009 NAIA national championship-winning Sioux Falls team that allowed 10.5 points and 210.5 yards per game.
In 2025, many of those defensive pieces will be back including linebacker Deontae Lawson , linemen LT Overton , Tim Keenan III and Jah-Marien Latham , cornerbacks Zabien Brown and Domani Jackson , and safeties Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb .
Year 2 with DeBoer also means Year 2 in a defensive system Alabama seemed to become more and more comfortable in as 2024 went on.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Questions that define Year 2 of Kalen DeBoer Alabama football era
