Story by
The Tuscaloosa News
Why Alabama football 'already feels' different to Kalen DeBoer ahead of 2025 season
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Why Alabama football 'already feels' different to Kalen DeBoer ahead of 2025 season
MOBILE, Ala. — Kalen DeBoer knows Alabama football has to be better.
Standing outside of Hancock Whitney Stadium for the 2025 Senior Bowl, the Alabama football coach harkened back to his expectation for the Crimson Tide when he first took the job: to perform at a championship level.
Advertisement
"And we certainly fell short of that," DeBoer said Tuesday.
Alabama finished the 2024 season with a 9-4 record, recording less than 10 wins for the first time in since 2007. The Crimson Tide lost two of its final three games in 2024, including its ReliaQuest Bowl appearance against Michigan .
But as 2025 prep ramps up, DeBoer said he's sensing something different, something he is excited about.
"Whether you are 0-12 or 12-0 in a regular season, you are always going to critique and be really detailed on how you got to improve," DeBoer said. "I appreciate what our staff is doing, what our players are doing to really look inward, work together and continue to move forward. There's a lot of good things already happening. It already feels just a lot different internally as we turn the page into 2025."
Advertisement
Here are a few takeaways from DeBoer's media availability at the Senior Bowl:
Kalen DeBoer excited for Deontae Lawson return to Alabama football
DeBoer thinks Alabama carries momentum heading into 2025, helped by the return of many NFL draft-eligible starters for another season.
And it starts with linebacker Deontae Lawson, who DeBoer said was planning on 2024 being his final season until his season-ending injury against Oklahoma .
Life threw Lawson a curveball, DeBoer said. But it's a curveball DeBoer views as a home run.
"That, of course, is exciting for us," DeBoer said. "Getting a team captain, a guy who is so well respected in the locker room, and well respected by the fanbase, that type of leader at the linebacker position, a guy who makes the calls, the familiarity wit everything whether it's us with him or him with his teammates it's another one of those things that allows us to hit the ground running."
Advertisement
Kalen DeBoer talks NCAA transfer portal window
DeBoer said he wants more uniformity when it comes to the NCAA transfer portal window.
At the American Football Coaches Association convention, coaches voted to support a single 10-day portal window, starting in 2025-26, one that DeBoer said he also supports.
"I think a smaller window, and one window would certainly be ideal," DeBoer said. "That's just more understanding what your roster's going to be at this time of year is what we all want. Just taking the gray out of it, the confusion out of it for us, for our players as to what's ahead, let's get the development process of your team of these guys and the work that we can put in, let's get it all aligned."
Advertisement
Kalen DeBoer talks 2025 Senior Bowl
The 2025 Senior Bowl proved to be another recruiting tool for Alabama.
Five representatives from the Crimson Tide — quarterback Jalen Milroe , defensive lineman Tim Smith, punter James Burnip , tight end C.J. Dippre and safety Malachi Moore , who is not practicing due to injury — are in Mobile after finishing their Alabama careers.
"It's their goal and their dreams," DeBoer said. "A lot of why they come to Alabama. They just know the development and the opportunities that exist are going to help them prepare for the next level. With all the tradition and the history that surrounds Alabama players going on to the NFL, it's what they work for."
Advertisement
Alabama opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 against Florida State.
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: Why Alabama football 'already feels' different to Kalen DeBoer in 2025
