TAMPA, Fla. — Tyler Booker didn't have long to reflect.
The Alabama football junior offensive lineman had just walked off the field, losing the ReliaQuest Bowl to Michigan 19-13 , ending a tumultuous 2024 campaign that had the highs of beating Georgia at home and LSU on the road, and the lows of road losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma that kept the Crimson Tide out of the College Football Playoff.
Booker didn't have long to reflect. So when he was asked how he would remember the 2024 season, he took a beat.
"It was a tough one," Booker said. "One that I will learn a lot from, one that has made me a better person, a better leader."
The first year of the Kalen DeBoer era was not an easy one for the Crimson Tide . It was "a roller coaster," the coach said, but one where his players remained consistent and hungry for whatever came next.
While Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe kept his 2025 plans close to the vest, he openly shared his thoughts on DeBoer and a coaching staff he will "continue to appreciate" regardless of what's next.
"Football is a beautiful vehicle that allows you to meet a lot of great people," Milroe said. "And one thing that is for certain was meeting coach DeBoer along this process. When it initially was hardship with the staff change became something really good from meeting him. So I can definitely say that that was just great to be around him, learn and just be able to expand my knowledge of the game just being around him."
Milroe also glowed about Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan: "one of the best coaches I have been around," who Milroe said continued to push him to be his best.
To Milroe, DeBoer and Sheridan are two reasons why he feels Alabama has a "bright future."
"The people understand what needs to be done so we can be the best version of (ourselves)," Milroe said. "The standard that is here, the standard that is set. And we have a lot of great dudes in the locker room that's hungry, that's looking to get better, that's looking to uphold the standard."
Tim Smith didn't have a message to Alabama fans after Tuesday's loss. They are going to feel what they feel, the defensive lineman said.
Smith did have a message to his teammates before ending his Alabama career: continue to play to that Crimson Tide standard, something, he said, the players helped teach and uphold in a program filled with change.
It's why he feels Alabama is set up for success in 2025.
"That's just my inside scoop," Smith said. "I see how my guys work every day, how they prepare, what they put into it. Even though this may be my last game or my last year, I know for a fact they are going to continue on that standard. ... They are still going to get their jobs done, fill in the gaps, do what they are supposed to."
The 2024 season was tough for Booker, one he had to lead Alabama through. But it's one he is appreciative for, one he feels will have a lasting effect on each member of the program.
"I won't forget it," Booker said. "I know it didn't go the way we wanted, but I feel that everyone is going to grow from it."
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: Will Alabama football find success in 2025 after 'tough' season?
