Kalen DeBoer opened his Monday press conference with condolences before addressing Alabama’s 31-17 loss to Florida State.
“First of all, just want to send condolences out to Lee Roy Jordan’s family,” DeBoer said. Lee Roy Jordan passed away over the weekend at 84. The linebacker was a captain under Bear Bryant, an All-American, and College Football Hall of Famer who later starred for the Dallas Cowboys.
“Just a huge part of this program and the past here.”
DeBoer then provided injury updates for the Crimson Tide. Wide receiver Ryan Williams will go through concussion protocol this week.
Offensive guard Jaedan Roberts “was fully cleared” and available against Florida State but didn’t play. Defensive lineman Tim Keenan and running back Jamarion Miller remain week-to-week as they recover from injuries.
The head coach addressed effort issues from Saturday’s game directly.
“Yeah, there was…we were certainly disappointed in some effort situations that happened,” he said. “It surprises you sometimes when it happens especially with certain guys because of the effort that they put in day in and day out.”
DeBoer emphasized intentionality as the team prepares for Louisiana-Monroe. “That’s a word that I use a lot, and it’s going to be something I use a lot more this week…intentional. Being intentional with reps, with communication, with effort. That’s where it starts.”
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Alabama trailed by 17 points before mounting a second-half comeback that fell short.
“We hedged our way back in the game,” DeBoer explained. “Really, we should have had the ball third and 11 on defense with nine minutes to go. I would have felt like, man, this thing’s going to happen… there was a real belief and confidence building on the sideline.”
“You got to finish. It comes back to just that effort, but it has to happen from the very first play.”
Quarterback Ty Simpson made his first career start against Florida State. DeBoer offered mixed assessment of the performance.
“He’s a guy that takes ownership himself,” the coach said. “There was a time or two where he probably could have avoided having to get to that point by just ripping it…just trusting himself.”
Simpson kept drives alive but came up inches short on a crucial late-game run.
“That’s a tough one, where he came up a few inches short, but the effort was there. You can see that trying to fight for every inch.”
DeBoer delivered a direct message to his team heading into Saturday’s home opener.
“Don’t overthink this. Just go out and ball out. Play with an edge too, right? Because we got something to prove.”
Alabama hosts Louisiana-Monroe at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 6th.
