Alabama opened fall camp on Wednesday with a non-padded practice in the morning before Kalen DeBoer met with the media afterward.
It was clear very quickly that the preseason disrespect that has come the Crimson Tide's way is working to motivate this team. Alabama was picked to finish sixth in the SEC preseason poll and came in at No. 11 in the Coaches Poll. Both are the lowest preseason marks for the program since 2008.
DeBoer was asked on Wednesday whether the team was paying attention to where they had been picked in the preseason and whether it was serving as motivation. He didn't leave much room for ambiguity.
"Yeah, we are definitely aware," DeBoer said with a smirk.
It was a quick, direct answer to the question. Alabama is hearing all the noise. It's the anti-rat poison. Everything that has been said and written about the program in the aftermath of the blowout loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl has been useful bulletin board material for the coaching staff as they get the guys ready for the season.
The national media disrespect is serving as motivation for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama
It was interesting to hear DeBoer give such a direct answer. He's typically the king of coachspeak, as anyone who has spent any real amount of time listening to him talk will tell you. There was no coachspeak there. He is absolutely using the disrespect to motivate his team. As he should.
Alabama is taking on an "us vs. the world" type mentality. They aren't doing a lot of talking in the offseason like we heard too much of a year ago. They are working in the shadows, trying to get better. Blowout losses to Georgia and Indiana in the postseason served as the measuring stick for the Crimson Tide. They know they have to get a lot better in order to seriously compete for the National Championship, which is always the goal and always the expectation in Tuscaloosa.
"We’ve talked about working in silence since January, and these guys are doing their thing and not getting caught up in what they can’t control," DeBoer said. "We know what our goals are, we know what our expectations are. We’ve never shied away from that. The challenge for us right now is to continue to become one. That’s been our theme here going into camp. It’s 11 guys on offense, 11 on defense, and also special teams. But also as a whole program, having each other’s back."
Alabama has plenty of motivation heading into the season. The media has been chomping at the bit to shovel dirt on the program ever since Nick Saban retired. After nearly two decades of beatings, even those who are supposed to be impartial observers can't help but root against the Crimson Tide.
That's okay. Let them. Let everyone continue to doubt this team. Contrary to what some believe, it's still a supremely talented squad, more than capable of competing with anyone in the country.
And now they are armed with the motivation to prove to everyone that the death of Alabama football has been greatly exaggerated.
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