Kalen DeBoer Carving Own Path at Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Kalen DeBoer’s plane hadn’t even landed in Tuscaloosa before he reached out to Alabama’s most important recruit.

It was a Friday night in January after DeBoer’s whirlwind courtship to become the successor to Nick Saban, a seven-time national champion and relentless recruiter. DeBoer was mid-air when he called coveted wide receiver Ryan Williams, who had de-committed from the Crimson Tide after Saban’s retirement.

Twelve days after that call, Williams re-committed to Alabama, where he figures to make an immediate impact as a freshman.

It didn’t hurt that Jeff Kelly and Williams — his star player, a top-five prospect nationally — were watching together as DeBoer’s high-powered Washington offense outlasted Texas in the College Football Playoff when two Huskies’ receivers topped 120 yards.

“I really thought Ryan would go elsewhere,” recalled Kelly, Williams’ coach at Saraland High School in suburban Mobile. “He took a couple of official visits and then he went up and spent the weekend (in Tuscaloosa). He really came back with just a great confidence and a feel for a guy that he could go in and play for.

“When he got back from that visit, I think he knew that was the place for him. It felt like home.”

Different but effective

Saban was businesslike and a larger-than-life figure when he walked into high schools and recruits’ living rooms, drawing attention and top prospects like a magnet.

DeBoer is more low-key, affable and quietly confident. He shows no signs of feeling the pressure that comes with replacing a coach who won seven national championships (including one at LSU) with deep, talented teams year in, year out.

“He’s just one of the guys. He is pleasant,” Mark Freeman, coach at Thompson High School in suburban Birmingham, said of DeBoer. “Coach has a lot on him. I think he does a great job of hiding his stress points and some of the difficulties he has with the job. He hides it.”

Saban built his program on the recruiting trail, piling up blue-chip prospects and future high NFL draft picks from Julio Jones to Tua Tagovailoa to Bryce Young, the Tide’s fourth Heisman Trophy winner under Saban and ever.

A fiercely intense and sometimes scowling force on the sidelines, Saban was as effective as any coach in living rooms and high schools throughout the Southeast and beyond.

“When coach Saban shows up at your campus, it’s kind of like what I would imagine it was back in the day when Elvis would show up,” Kelly said. “He had such a presence and a respect and a following.”

DeBoer is still building that in ‘Bama country.

Replacing a legend

The question comes so frequently, it would have undoubtedly frustrated Saban: What’s it like to be the man who replaces The Man?

Every single time, DeBoer takes it in stride like it’s the first time he’s heard it.

“I totally get it. I understand there’s only one Coach Saban,” DeBoer said at SEC media days in July. “There will only ever be one Coach Saban. This program is special, and I guess I just take it as a great honor to be the one that gets to do everything we can to carry on the tradition.”

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