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Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with AllTrails. Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well.
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Hire high quality certified pros at angie.com. We're being joined by Kennington Smith from The Athletic. Kennington, how are you, man? I'm good. How are you? I'm excellent.
Thank you for taking the time to hop on. As Kalen DeBoer has moved from Washington, is now down in Tuscaloosa, speaks to the media today, what are your first impressions on who he is and what makes him different than Coach Saban? Yeah, I think the big thing with Kalen DeBoer is his personality and Saban's personality, I guess on the surface, and how they kind of demonstrate themselves on the field are a lot different. You know, Saban's kind of known for his outbursts and being very animated.
DeBoer is much more reserved, but I think the similarities is the desire to win. And that, more than anything, I think is what resonates with fans most when they get to learn about Kalen DeBoer's story in relation to replacing Nick Saban. This is somebody that's been coaching college football for 10 years and has 12 losses. So regardless of if fans knew about him before coming to Alabama or not, they have to respect that he is a winner. And I think that he kind of carries himself with this just unbothered confidence. I think you hear a lot of people say, well, who would want to follow somebody like Nick Saban?
Who wants to be the guy to replace that guy? And Kalen DeBoer has zero hesitation about doing that. So from that lens, he earned instant respect from the team. And I think how he's kind of conducted himself since he's been to Alabama's head coach has inspired a lot of interest and faith within the fan base. So ultimately, what happens on the field is going to decide his fate. But to this point, it's been a pretty smooth transition. Kennington Smith is here with us, the JR Sport Reshow, coast to coast.
You want to talk about a transition? We don't have any questions about the starting quarterback for Alabama this year. Jalen Monroe took that job last year, ran them into the playoffs, is coming back. What is the next step for him and his progression if Alabama wants to continue on with 10 plus wins? Yeah, I think for Jalen Monroe, it's all about playing with more confidence. I think last year was a tough situation.
I mean, it's a pretty contested quarterback battle. He gets benched after a tough loss and then comes back and leads Alabama to the SEC championship. I think for him this year, it's about being a confident player, being more experienced. And then also, how is he going to operate in this Kalen DeBoer offense that what Washington did last year, what Alabama did last year were vastly different. So his responsibilities in this offense, I think, is that he's going to have a lot of confidence. His offense are going to be different. He's going to have to process things fast.
He's going to have to get the ball out faster and then obviously be able to continue to throw the ball down the field. There's going to be a larger running responsibility, I believe, compared to what he was doing last year. So there's going to be more on his shoulders, but he's a year older. He's a year more confident.
And I said really big things out of him. I think one of the big storylines of SEC media days is just how much respect he's garnered from other teams in the conference. It seems like every other quarterback and every team is kind of talking about him in some way as being this really dynamic player. So I think he got a chance to show a little bit of what he could do last year, but I anticipate this is going to be a really big breakout year for him. He's garnering a lot of attention, even for his picks that pretty much omitted Alabama out of the championship game of the SEC.
Yeah, that's something that I wrote earlier today. This is his, I believe, 17th or 18th straight SEC media days. And just like his first one, he is still the star of the show, even if he's sitting in a different seat. So just his presence has been a talking point. You saw it, like you said, Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkeesian today talking about his impact on their lives personally and on the game.
And then when you get a chance to see Nick Saban in a setting where he gets a chance to show a little bit more personality. He gets to be a little bit more relaxed because he's not coaching. He gets a chance to show his football analysis.
It just draws fans in and it kind of shows a different side to him. So he is still a star of the show and his prediction of not putting Alabama SEC championships got him a lot of laughs today. We got a chance to ask the players about it. And one of them, Tyler Booker, offensive lineman, said, well, you know, Nick Saban always told us not to be concerned about somebody in their mama's basement making predictions. So I'm not going to be concerned about somebody who plays golf all day trying to make predictions about our season.
So the players are having some fun with it as well. And Nick Saban is a star no matter what role he's in. And I think he's going to continue to be that and being a looming presence in college football this season and in the years to come.
Kennington Smith is joining us courtesy of The Athletic. When you talk about someone like Tyler Booker making some of the jokes, Nick Saban for years has talked about the media and bigging up the program as being rat poison. Do the players seem looser under DeBoer?
Yeah, I mean, I think there is a bit of a looser energy. And I just think DeBoer is just a bit of a more of a modern progressive coach. Obviously, he's younger and he has kind of empowered not only the players, but his assistance to be a little bit more out there with the media. He's made assistant coaches available for media availability during spring practice, which never happened under Saban. You're getting a chance to see players show a little bit more of their personality.
DeBoer is playing music at practice. Players get to wear number zero now, which never happened under Nick Saban. So he's done well, I think, making the players more comfortable. But I think in that same vein, the players have stressed the fact that the intensity and the expectations have not changed at all.
So I think there might be a misconception that looser and more fun means less discipline. And that's not necessarily been the case from what the players have been telling us. So again, we'll see what happens on the field, but it does seem like it's a little bit more of a looser Alabama team. And we'll see how that kind of bears itself out this season. Well, Kennington, when you think about Alabama, some of their stars, especially their backs. Terrion Arnold is now a member of the Lions.
Kool-Aid McKinstry is in the NFC South with the Saints. What does this incoming freshman class look like? And are these recruits going to be able to shoulder the load?
What's the expectations? Yeah, I mean, I don't think the expectation has changed. And I think whenever an Alabama freshman comes in, regardless of who's the coach or what the team has done, there's going to be an expectation for those players to be able to come in and contribute. And one thing about this class that's really interesting is because of how many players left after Nick Saban retired via the transfer portal, a lot of these two freshmen that probably would have been on the third team or the fourth team are now on the first team and the second team in spring practice because of the attrition. So those guys are developing faster because they're playing higher quality competition in practice.
So from that lens, they're probably a little bit ahead of what past freshman classes have been. You've mentioned the secondary. A couple of names that I want to throw out there for the fans to get to know is Zabian Brown and Red Morgan. These are two guys who enrolled early in January and almost exclusively ran with the first team secondary at cornerback and at slot cornerback.
So those are two guys of names that you need to know. And Alabama winning the transfer portal after spring practice and added a few veteran defensive backs as well. So there's a good mix of veteran experience and high school talent, which is pretty much par for the course for Alabama. But they just haven't played at Alabama before. So there's going to be some question marks, obviously, in the secondary. But there is the talent there.
We just kind of have to see it all come together. Kennington Smith is here with us, covers all things Alabama football for the athletic. You know, one of the reasons that Saban left and you talk about all the new prospects that have come in, the guys that hit the portal and bounce. He was sick and tired of talking about money and finances and recruits and their expectations change from football and education to finances and money. Now that there's NIL, now that the college football playoff has expanded, isn't it a natural progression that Alabama expectations may still be high? But having things evened out a little bit, you get a Texas Oklahoma and playoff is bigger.
What do you think? Yeah, I mean, I definitely think that the path to a national championship is much harder than it was maybe five, 10 years ago. But the expectations have not changed at all. And I can reference this. I did a fan survey. So I put out a Google form where I literally asked the fan base, what do you expect out of Alabama this year? What do you expect moving forward?
And we had several hundred responses. So we got to pull a good amount of the fan base. Seventy percent of the fan base expects Alabama to be in the SEC championship game this year. Seventy percent of the fan base expect Alabama to not only make the playoffs, but at least win one game. So you're either going to the semifinals or the quarterfinals. And almost 80 percent of the fan base expect the board to win a national championship within four years of being the coach. So, yes, it is harder.
And NIL has played a part in maybe evening the playing field. But within Alabama's fan base, the expectation is that Alabama is going to adapt and adjust to these changes and continue to be the same program. Is that fair? Is that reasonable?
I think you could debate it either way, but that's what that is. What makes Alabama really interested? I could argue that Alabama football right now is more interesting than it ever has been, because whether you love them or whether you hate them, you want to know what's going to happen next.
You're going to be tapped in. So expectations are sky high. But that's not something that anybody within the program is shying away from from things that I've observed.
Kennington Smith, so you would say that they're they look at this as a two to four year honeymoon period before they get in his backside and say, hey, man, what the hell are you doing? Yeah, I mean, I think you have to acknowledge that there is going to be some adjustment going from the greatest college football coach of all time to another coach. And Kevin DeBoer is elite in his own right. I think that we have to acknowledge that Washington went farther than Alabama last year. Washington beat Texas last year, unlike Alabama did. Washington had the same number of players drafted as Alabama did last year.
And Washington doesn't recruit nearly at the same level that Alabama does. So obviously, Kevin DeBoer knows how to coach. He knows how to develop. He knows how to win at a really high clip. Now he's taking that winning formula and bringing it to Alabama, which has the infrastructure to contend at a high level.
So from that lens, the expectations should be high. But I think the fan base is going to give him a little bit time to kind of adjust, get his recruits in, do his thing. So they're going to expect Alabama to make the playoffs every year that he's the coach in my mind. And I think after four years, if he hasn't won a national championship, I think that fans will be within their right to be questioning, you know, kind of if he is the right guy to continue the dynasty. But we'll see what happens in these next few years.
OK, Kennington, last question for you. Outside of Alabama, was there anything else that caught your attention over these past few days? Yeah, I think just the idea of the expanded playoffs and the fact that there are programs now that have more hope to contend for a national championship or be in that conversation than ever before. A team like an Ole Miss, a Missouri, a Tennessee, you get these type of programs and they come to SEC media days and they say, our goal is to play for a championship.
It's like, well, well, that's everybody's goal. Is that always realistic? For a team like Missouri Ole Miss, they probably were never making a four team playoff. But in an expanded 12 team playoff, they have a chance to make it. And then once you get into the 12 team field, anything can happen. So I think we're going to see the SEC really flex its muscle in terms of how good the conference really is. I honestly think there's at least six, seven teams in the SEC that could make the playoffs in any year. And even more than that, if other programs like Ford and Auburn are operating at an optimal level. So what stuck out to me is just the parity in the in the conference, how many teams really believe that they have a chance to contend for the playoffs.
And I think that's ultimately going to elevate the entire profile of the conference. Kennington, I appreciate the time. Where can people follow you and all your excellent work?
Yeah, on Twitter slash X at Skinny Kenny underscore that as K I N N Y K E N N Y underscore. And then I'm on the athletic dot com or the athletic wherever you get your mobile app, searching my name or anything related to Alabama athletics. A great chat with you, man. We're going to have you back on soon. OK, Kennington. Yeah, most definitely. Like Deion Sanders, I ain't hard to find.
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