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Alabama is still going on Wednesday at SEC Media Days. There are still some Alabama fans congregating in the lobby of the Marriott Water Street in Tampa. The Tide remain the biggest brand name in this football-driven conference. That’s what made the 2026 appearance so weird.
Somehow, someway the big elephant is not driving conversation and is truly flying under the radar entering another college football season. It all feels like Robin Williams in Jumanji.
What year is it?
“Yeah, I understand why with a lot of new faces. And that’s okay, you know, because we got to
go prove it. We do. We got to go out and get the job done. That’s really how I feel every year. It doesn’t matter how many guys return,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said when asked if he felt his third team in Tuscaloosa was flying under the radar. “Last year we returned I think 16 seniors and we had to go prove it. We had to do some things, not just talk it. We had to go decide what we were going to accomplish, decide and commit to the process, commit to what we needed to do to get it done, and then make sure that action supported the goals we had.”
“So until we prove it, we understand there will be doubt, because those expectations as we talked about, are extremely high in the program.”
If you forget about the logo, those words from DeBoer make sense for just about the rest of the Southeastern Conference. This is a team with a current quarterback battle that has major offensive line questions and will likely lean on its defense early to win games. But we can’t forget about the logo. This is Alabama at SEC Media Days. This program was yearly the biggest story at this event. That mostly remained the case in the two years after DeBoer replaced the legendary Nick Saban. Saban is still attending this event, but is spending all his time at the SEC Network set, and not going through the media car wash. The shadow still looms large and it has ultimately led attention elsewhere.
New head coaches Jon Sumrall and Will Stein each made a big splash. Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin have become the big stars. The addition of the burnt orange has more people paying attention to Texas and Texas A&M. Everyone is fascinated with Ole Miss considered the year they just had both on and off the field. Then there is Alabama. Just lying in the weeds. DeBoer is not on the hot seat thanks to a big contract extension he received this offseason, but people aren’t talking about this team like it’s one that will make some type of big playoff run.
What are we to make of under the radar Alabama? I believe it’s the most interesting question to come out of talking season.
The Tide is being slept on. Is that a mistake? We should find out early. Kentucky hosts Alabama in Lexington for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC in Week 2 that is expected to be one of the most wild atmospheres in the Bluegrass over the last few years. The Big Blue Nation has quickly shifted to all-in mode thanks to a terrific offseason marketing campaign by new head coach Will Stein that was backed up by strong run in recruiting. Big dreams are being dreamt. Alabama is flying under the radar and could either take off or spiral. This is a program that has lost multiple power conference road games to unranked teams since DeBoer took over. Anything feels possible.
‘We obviously fell short of our goals when it comes to winning the conference championship, winning more games, and competing for a national championship in the playoffs, but there are some steps that I felt we took,” DeBoer said.
To say the media and college football followers at large are skeptical of those steps would be putting it lightly. Alabama produce some big-time wins in the first two years under DeBoer, but this was a team that started the 2025 campaign with an ugly loss to Florida State, and ended the season getting pulverized by Indiana in the Rose Bowl. The trend lines aren’t great despite owning a 2-0 regular season record against Kirby Smart‘s Georgia.
Could Kentucky shock the world in September? Some of those bold takes from earlier this offseason certainly seem more realistic after a strange talking season appearance from this blue blood program. This is not the Alabama juggernaut that you are used to. The Tide have taken a step back and everyone is aware. They could be extra vulnerable this season.
Kentucky’s upstart program could be ready to strike at the right moment.
