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The Tuscaloosa News
How Kalen DeBoer, Alabama football used Sunday to move forward after Vanderbilt loss
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- How Kalen DeBoer, Alabama football used Sunday to move forward after Vanderbilt loss
From the moment Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football entered the away locker room at FirstBank Stadium after Saturday's 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt , the 24-hour response period began.
It was a locker room filled with frustration, one filled with players wanting to stick together, one filled with players still wanting to do something special. And the frustration carried over to Monday.
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"I'm extremely frustrated," DeBoer said. "We all are."
The frustration lingers. But DeBoer said Alabama turned the page out of necessity, less than 24 hours after entering the FirstBank Stadium away locker room.
By Sunday afternoon, like normal, players and coaches were back at the Alabama football facilities, eyes forward on the next meeting: South Carolina Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"Outside of the building, the game gets held on for ... not a day, probably not a week," DeBoer said. "For some guys, people hold onto it for the rest of your life. But for these guys, they don't get the choice. We, as a staff and them together, have to move on. And we've done that."
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Alabama's moved on. But the Crimson Tide 's reality remains.
The Crimson Tide has "a little less wiggle room to achieve some of the goals we have," DeBoer admitted. But the goals remain. The mindset remains, one centered around improvement, one that's never going to change.
Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) throws long against the Vanderbilt Commodores during their game at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
When he sees Alabama, DeBoer said he still sees a great football team, one he believes in. But he also sees one with work to be done.
"We're not a finished product by any means," DeBoer said. "And that showed up on Saturday."
But Alabama had already moved on Sunday.
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: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama football used Sunday to move forward after Vanderbilt loss
