The Alabama Crimson Tide are a day away from playing in what will be an absolutely massive showdown against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, a road test the likes of which many players on the team, and likely Kalen DeBoer himself, have never seen.
Stepping into one of the toughest environments in the sport against an elite defense, an offensive play caller who absolutely undressed the Tide last time they played in Neyland Stadium, and a big sea of orange is certainly an intimidating thing for a team that is still fairly young.
On top of all the pressure, Alabama has not played well over the last two weeks with a loss to Vanderbilt and a narrow home victory against South Carolina.
Despite all of this, DeBoer is not letting the outside noise in and not dwelling on what everyone else’s opinion of his team is:
"We can't worry about what other people think."
– Coach @KalenDeBoer on Hey Coach#RollTide | @AlabamaFTBL | @Alfa_Insurance pic.twitter.com/YOtMQ2o2rJ
— Crimson Tide Sports Network (@UA_CTSN) October 17, 2024
“We can’t worry about what other people think, we have to worry about what we’re doing within the building, who we are as a team, are we fighting for each other, fighting with each other, those are the things that I’m looking for,” DeBoer said. “Is there energy, attitude, and effort? That’s the number one ask I have from them, because if that’s happening then we’re gonna continue to improve and continue to get better.”
“We know we are not a finished product, but in the meantime you wanna continue to win games to make sure we stay the course and can reach our goals that we have as a program, as a 2024 football team.”
Defeating Tennessee on the road would certainly be a great start towards that continued improvement and a major step towards accomplishing those goals that both the team and the fanbase have.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
