Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer met with the media on Monday to preview the Crimson Tide's matchup with Georgia. Here's what DeBoer had to say about facing the Bulldogs.
On what stands out about Georgia's defense: "Well, I think you're always going to, again, kind of almost in line with the same answer I just gave, is you're going to have a lot of physicality. You're going to have speed. But you've got a system that's in place where guys are understanding and trusting who's going to be where. And so what you’ve got to try to do is create the opportunities with your matchups, create opportunities, and try to do what you can do to get a step or maybe have that defense freeze or flinch. That's offensive football. You try to do that any week. But that's what you really, that's what becomes a bigger test when you have a program like this that has so much continuity in what they've been doing, because of their system and especially on the defensive side of the ball."
On the benefits of having players who beat Georgia last year on his team: "Well, you look back to last year, right? And this is a new team. This is a new season. And that's what I always make sure we're emphasizing. This is the 2024 Alabama Crimson Tide football team. But there's certainly learning moments that you have when you've been through the experiences. And that's not obviously me. That's our players, as you mentioned, that can take those experiences and give them confidence, give them an understanding of what it takes. And you try to give them the platform. You try to give them a chance to be able to spread what they've learned to the rest of the team. And understanding it's going to be a four-quarter game. Understand that there's going to be ebbs and flows of the game, that it's going to be the physicality isn't just going to be here and there. It's every single play. So you've got to be on your game, on your A game, the entire start to finish, and do it as long as it's needed, considering no matter how long the game goes. So you take those guys with those experiences, and you make sure that they get a chance to spread what they've learned with the rest of the football team."
On Alabama being a home underdog for the first time since 2007: "I mean, that's no one's fault that that's the case. But obviously, there's going to be, even if there's one doubter, it falls along with the LANK mentality. And that's what we get to do, is let any of the naysayers know what we're capable of. And again, that's no one's fault that that's what it is. That's a tribute to what people see in Georgia and how high level of a football team that they have. And to their credit, that's exactly what they are. And then for us, it's just a matter of doing what we can do and making sure that we present the best version of what we can be on Saturday, again, through great preparation, great focus, making sure that we're feeling great about what we have because we do. We feel like we have a football team that is a top-tier team that just every day is going to continue to get better. And that's not just this week. That's not just next week. That's all season long. And so we really feel the sky's the limit. You have to catch some breaks here along the way, whether that's health or those big moments in games that get the swing in your favor. And so you create those breaks. And that's, again, where us just going to work, focusing on the main thing, focusing on ourselves, focusing on us. That's what matters most."
On what allows Georgia to have success in big games: "Yeah, there's got to be a belief and trust. And when it comes to close games, you can see finding a way comes down to wanting it, preparing because you do want it, preparing in a special way. And they've just got great continuity. And the physicality you see, the schemes, schematics, especially defense that goes way back. I mean, Coach Smart has implemented his system and has a lot of people now around him that have carried that on over the years as well. Offensively, now you see some carryover over the last couple of years with consistency there. And so with that comes confidence, with that comes belief. And for us, that's what we're establishing too. That's what we're working on daily is to just really be efficient in putting that into our program, creating that. It happens because of the success our guys have had together. I think now you're just trying to offensively, defensively, special teams-wise, just trying to keep it simple so they can go out there and play fast but also make it complex enough to where it's tough to defend."
