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Year 3 for Kalen DeBoer is shaping up to be a big one at Alabama. The Crimson Tide will look to take a leap after making the College Football Playoff a season ago, but SEC Network analyst Benjamin Watson said there’s one important area he’ll be watching closely.
Watson called for Alabama to find more of the “toughness” it had under former coach Nick Saban. Of course, he noted the task DeBoer faced as he took over for arguably the greatest to ever do it while noting the strides the Crimson Tide took on offense in 2025.
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However, the running game struggled mightily, notably in the SEC Championship. Despite a winning streak in the middle of the season that helped propel the Tide to the CFP, Watson argued the losses to Florida State and Indiana showed areas of concern. That’s why he said that level of toughness needs to come back.
“Offensively, they’ve got to be able to run the football, though,” Watson said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I look back to the SEC championship game, they ran the ball for -3 yards. When have we ever heard of an Alabama team run the ball for -3 yards? So for them to go where they want to go in that offense, they’ve got to develop a certain toughness – and this isn’t an insult. This is just my observation in analyzing the sport. They’ve got to regain a toughness that Alabama used to have, that we didn’t see from them last year.
“Even thinking about that game against Indiana, you look at the bookends of their season – the beginning against Florida State and the very end against Indiana – they were pushed around. Now, they had an eight-game win streak in there. They played some good football throughout the season. Deserved to be in the Playoff. But that’s what we need to see from Alabama, which is what has been lacking over the last couple years.”
Benjamin Watson: Kalen DeBoer ‘weathered the storm’
Kalen DeBoer has a 20-8 overall record in his two seasons at Alabama, including last year’s SEC title game appearance and College Football Playoff berth. The conversation this year largely surrounds the quarterback as Keelon Russell and Austin Mack compete for the starting job with Ty Simpson off to the NFL.
With that battle ongoing, Benjamin Watson thinks Alabama is flying a bit under the radar ahead of DeBoer’s turn at the podium at SEC media days. Still, he gave credit to the Crimson Tide coach for staying the course even with the pressure of taking over for Saban.
“I think part of it, again, is they’re having a quarterback battle,” Watson said. “Who’s going to emerge from this quarterback battle? Keelon Russell is a name that I’m hearing that might have a lead. Very athletic. But Austin Mack is a guy who’s 6-foot-6 and can make the throws, as well. So that’s one question mark for them.
“But you’re going to be hard-pressed to find another roster that has the athletes that Alabama still has and also has the pedigree, the impetus and the desire to still win. One thing Kalen DeBoer, I think, over the last couple years, he weathered the storm. He took over for one of the greatest, if not the greatest to ever do it. And he weathered that storm, some ups and downs for him. I feel like he’s moving into his own.”
