When Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer was hired in January, there was rightfully much excitement about the prolific offense he'd overseen at the University of Washington; an offense that propelled the Huskies all the way to a College Football Playoff berth.
Three weeks into the 2024 season, the Crimson Tide is 3-0, and the offense, minus a dismal three-quarter stretch against South Florida , has looked impressive. But the offense Alabama fans are seeing isn't at all a carbon copy of the attack Washington employed last year, and according to DeBoer, much of that system won't even be installed this year.
The reason? The offense must suit the personnel he inherited.
"There's going to be a lot of our offense that we never install this year, just because of the players that we have," DeBoer said Wednesday on the SEC's weekly media teleconference. "There's going to be other elements of the system that we haven't used much the past few years, that we'll go draw upon."
One key difference is that Alabama's returning offensive linemen, as a group, are heavier and better suited for power than mobility, unlike last year's Washington line, even though center Parker Brailsford transferred in from UW. The same is largely true of its tight end group. Alabama is also equipped with a highly effective running back tandem in Justice Haynes and Jam Miller that can move the chains without as much passing.
Regardless, DeBoer's comments suggest that the 2025 Alabama offense could look quite different from 2024.
"It's more about what direction our offense continues to evolve," he added. "The plays are endless. There are endless pass plays, things we've done, it's a matter of what we're drawing on and how you're trying to evolve and utilize the skills of the players you have here."
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football's Kalen DeBoer: much of offense won't be installed
