Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer’s system has been one of the big questions since he was hired for the job.
After first-round hopeful Michael Penix had back-to-back dominant seasons under DeBoer at Washington, the focus immediately became ‘how does Jalen Milroe fit into this offense?’
Once DeBoer brought in Austin Mack from Washington as well as Ty Simpson and Dylan Lonergan remaining in the room, it was easy to ask whether or not there would be a quarterback battle or if Mack was being brought in to start due to familiarity with DeBoer’s system.
However, according to DeBoer himself, he will be adjusting his offense to whoever the quarterback is.
Kalen DeBoer talks about what it takes to play QB in his system
"We'll adjust to whatever that quarterback skillset is. Certainly, a guy who can deliver the ball to the skill around him. There are 11 players on the football field on both sides of the ball, and I think you want… pic.twitter.com/aiCn7KNUUh
— Ryan C. Fowler (@RyanCFowler) February 21, 2024
“We’ll adjust to whatever that quarterback skillset is. Certainly a guy who can deliver the ball to the skill around him. There’s 11 players on the football field, both sides of the ball. You want to maximize each and every position. That can be done in different ways. What I would hope we can be is a team that can deliver the ball to all our skill positions and also I think you look at the different skillsets we have,” DeBoer said.
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“Obviously everyone looks at Jalen and sees his ability to be mobile and run the football. That’s an added weapon. That also makes everyone around him better. Extra eyes are in the backfield. There are a lot of different ways that can go,” he continued.
“You need a guy who’s poised, a guy that when the big moment comes is confident and his teammates feel that. I think there’s things that you do as a quarterback beyond the skillset just in leading the football team. That just comes through repetition, confidence, great preparation, being that guy who brings it every single day and every single moment and the team feeding off of him.”
Regardless of who the starting quarterback is, it sounds like Milroe certainly will not be at any disadvantage in his case for the job.
It will be a fascinating thing to monitor throughout spring practice.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
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