On Thursday night, Kalen DeBoer visited Mobile, the location of one of the great early recruiting successes in his still-short career as Alabama’s head football coach.
DeBoer was in town to deliver the keynote speaker at the annual Team Focus Fundraiser at the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel. During a brief Q&A with reporters, he was questioned about a potential 2024 role for Ryan Williams, the 5-star Saraland High School wide receiver and two-time Mr. Football who re-committed to Alabama less than two weeks after DeBoer was chosen to replace Nick Saban.
“We’ll play the best guys, guys that can get out there and help us,” DeBoer said. “It doesn’t matter what age they are. And Ryan certainly has got a very special skillset — explosiveness, along with just consistent production.
“I think from him, what’s been just so impressive, it goes back to the week we met with him and he came on campus. There was so much thrown at him, a new head coach, new coordinator, new position coach. And when I hear him talk about what it is within our program that he really enjoyed and is excited about. He retained so much of that information, which leads you to believe that man, this is an important decision for him, that he was being really thorough, being really thoughtful. I just can’t wait to get him there with our guys because that attention to detail, is something that you just can’t take for granted.”
Williams reclassified to 2024 from the 2025 recruiting class, therefore he is now completing his coursework at Saraland before formally joining the Alabama football team in June. He skipped spring practice, as many high-profile freshman do.
Alabama had its A-Day scrimmage on April 13. A little more than three weeks after spring workouts ended, DeBoer felt his squad demonstrated the proper mindset.
“Most importantly, I like our attitude, our energy, the effort we put forth,” DeBoer stated. “We currently have a team-first approach when it comes to guys across the board. These people are here for a reason. They want to develop individually, but they also want to win the championship. As the spring progressed, it became clear what their primary objective was. We improved every day, and that is all you can ask. And it translates into positive momentum heading into the summer here. These guys get a few weeks away to relax and rejuvenate their minds and bodies. And we’ll hit the ground running in June.”
