Kennington. Great to have you back. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm excellent.
Thank you for taking the time. I guess first things out the box here. This is the first time Alabama is an underdog at home since Nick Saban showed up. What are your initial thoughts on this matchup and Kalen DeBoer and Kirby Smart going at it? These are the two teams that recruit at the highest level. They play in the best conference and usually when these teams get together, there is something significant on the line. They're either meeting in the SEC Championship with put-out implications or they're meeting in the National Championship game. So it's a little odd to see them meet this early in the season with not as much as state compared to the past matchups. But I would look at this as, you know, the two most talented rosters in college football going at it and all of the sub-layers of their rivalry. And Kirby Smart and Kenan DeBoer and Nick Saban and everything that lies underneath just makes it that much more interesting. Kennington Smith is here with us. Covers Alabama for the athletic.
It is a pick'em. I think it is going to be close. Having said that, wouldn't the implications of a loss be worse on Georgia than it would be for Alabama, especially with the new coach, team in transition, etc.?
Yeah, I think so. I mean, when we've been talking about these two schools, and I take this back to before last season, there were legitimate questions of if Georgia had overtaken Alabama as kind of the standard bearer in the sport. And when they met in December last for the SEC Championship, it was an opportunity for either Georgia to make that statement or for Alabama to reassert themselves.
And obviously, Alabama won. But with Saban retiring, it has changed the perception of both of these teams. Georgia has seemingly risen to the front with the best coach in college football. Alabama has taken a step back because they don't have the greatest coach of all time anymore. So this is, again, another opportunity for Georgia to assert their dominance.
I write a new chapter in the story of this rivalry. And being the team that was preseason number one, being the team with the more experienced head coach and coaching staff to go on to Alabama and lose in this first game of Kevin McVoy, I think would have pretty negative implications on the dynamics of this rivalry. And that's what makes this opportunity so exciting for Alabama.
You mentioned that they're in under the mark for the first time in 2007 at home. What type of moment would that be for Kevin McVoy and his first SEC game to secure a win like that over Georgia? And all of a sudden, you think about Alabama's trajectory in a much different way.
And well, Kennington, we know that this is the first real test here for Alabama. But what are some of the initial impressions of Kalen DeBoer? Yeah, I mean, he is a pretty laid back guy, honestly. He's kind of opposite from Nick Saban in a lot of ways. A little bit more easygoing. He's kind of like, you know, really just like a dad.
You know, somebody who's just like him to tell dad jokes and wear a ball cap. And he just happens to be a really smart, offensive mind. So he's definitely changed the culture in a way that makes it a little bit more relaxed, I would say. We're starting to see the players and the coaches kind of show a little bit more of their personality. And it's all gone well so far.
But obviously, we'll see what happens when they lose their first game. Kennington Smith is here with us. Covers Alabama for the athletic. Kennington, are you getting abducted by aliens? It sounds like your phone is drifting away. Are you okay? Yeah, I'm good.
I'm good. You can't hear me? It sounds like you're getting further and further away as we continue chatting it up here.
Kennington Smith here with us from the athletic. Kennington, you still there? Yeah, can you hear me? Okay. I think you sound a little bit closer.
I thought you were getting abducted by aliens for a second. Oh, no, I'm good. I'm good.
Awesome. Now, having said that, when we take a look at Kalen DeBoer, one thing that we know has not changed is Jalen Milro. There were so many questions last year, and he eventually took the starter's job.
He's a man on fire right now. How have you seen him develop as a QB, as composed or opposed to what we saw last year? I definitely think that you're seeing a lot more anticipation throws. I think you're seeing his rhythm get better.
I think you see the accuracy improve. One thing about Jalen Milro, though, is he's always going to be able to throw the ball deep, and he has the most touchdowns of 20-plus yards of any quarterback in the country. So that element is still a part of his game. We're starting to see him used in the run game a lot more, which just kind of felt like three yards last year.
The Alabama left on the table. We're seeing Kalen DeBoer and himself kind of lean into that. So Milro's winning the ball a lot more. He's starting to pass with a lot more confidence, and that's a potentially scary combination. It'll be interesting to see how Georgia plays and consider that they've already seen him in the SEC Championship last December.
So that chess match is going to be one of the biggest storylines of the game. Well, as the season continues on, especially if they win this game, what are the expectations going to be for Alabama? Will they change? We know the SEC has a new look. Texas is sitting at the top. Tennessee is lighting it up. Would the expectations change from the fan base if they knock off Georgia? I don't think so because I think the expectation, at least within Alabama's fan base, is still for them to contend for a national championship. So I don't think the expectations have honestly changed under Kalen DeBoer. I think the question is how is he going to live up to the standards and the expectations that have been set.
So I don't think there's any type of shift in expectations. I think, honestly, if anything, a win is just going to validate the decision to hire Kalen DeBoer and kind of put to bed any questions of is it still the same Alabama. That's what Alabama is kind of playing for Saturday outside of the obvious on-field implications is answering the question of is Alabama still the same without Nick Saban or is it just Nick Saban's players and somebody else just kind of managing that talent.
And there's a huge opportunity for Alabama to answer that question on Saturday. Kennington Smith is here from The Athletic. You mentioned Nick Saban. We know he's going to be sitting outside on college game day instead of preparing and being on the sideline. What are your thoughts on his timing and his exit? You know, I mean, just this week, we see Matt Sluka leaving UNLV. We got Bear Alexander saying, hey, I'm not getting my plans on my quit. Isn't this kind of lead towards why Nick Saban walked away in the first place?
Yeah, I think so. And I think it was he just kind of understood it with time. He saw the landscape. He saw where it was going. And that just wasn't something that he wanted to be a part of.
It's kind of like a common saying is, as soon as I'm done, as soon as I'm not having fun with it, I'm done with it. And that's kind of where Saban was at. He looked at the landscape. He saw where it was going. He saw the challenge, especially at a school like Alabama. I mean, UNLV, that was one or two players. Imagine a team full of five star athletes from Alabama all kind of vying for that type of positioning. And he saw the future and he just said to himself, you know what, I don't think I'm going to have much fun with it.
So I'm going to pass it off to somebody who might be better equipped to handle it and I'm going to enjoy retirement. Well, we know he'll be outside the stadium. Has his presence loomed at all? We know he has the office, but has his presence loomed at all over the program?
Not really. I mean, he's done a pretty good job of kind of keeping everything at bay. He's been in the facility a couple of times to get treatment with a medical team. And he's been used as a resource whenever the coaches call on him. But he's not around day to day. He's not really casting a large shadow over the football program. And I think it's been a pretty seamless handoff. I think Alabama understands that they can call on him whenever.
And I think he will answer at any given time. But there's really not a need for him to kind of kind of hovering over day to day. So he's doing his thing and Alabama's doing theirs. And there's going to be opportunities. They can kind of come in the middle like they're doing this weekend. But that's that's really the extent of it.
So pretty seamless transition. And I think. You look at how others have gone in years past and other marching programs and it hasn't gone as gracefully as this one. So I think everybody in all sides with a lot of credit. We talked about Jalen Monroe earlier in the show. I mentioned Ryan Williams. Who are some other folks or individuals that the country as they tune into this game? Who are some other players in Alabama that people are going to find out more about? Yeah, I think we start on the defensive line.
Tim Keenan, number 96. As we know, when these two great programs get together, it's really going to be decided in the trenches. So Tim Keenan, 96, or Alabama, who's been a huge part of what they've been doing in the first few weeks. I think he's going to have a big role if Alabama's going to win.
So watch out for him. I would say watch out for Alabama's running backs. Justice Haynes and Jam Miller, 22 and 26. They're going to have to be a huge part of what's going on in Alabama to win. And really anybody in Alabama is secondary. So watch out for the defensive backs because I think whoever is going to take the most explosive plays is going to end up winning the game. So those are some areas that people might not know about on the surface.
But pay attention on Saturday and those are going to be the players kind of affecting the game. Hey Kennington, I appreciate you coming through to chat us up about it. You said it's going to be a pick'em. Where can people follow you? Your news? Your comments? Are you writing your articles?
Fill us in. Yeah, on Twitter at skinny kenny underscore f-k-i-n-n-y-k-e-n-n-y underscore theathletics.com or theathletics on your mobile apps. Searching my name, Kennington Smith, or anything related to Alabama athletics. Hey Kennington, I appreciate you. Enjoy the game, ok? We'll catch you on down the line. Alright, for sure. Thank you.
