The Crimson Tide met shortly after the 2024 Alabama football team returned to Tuscaloosa after the season ended.
Kalen DeBoer, the coach, spoke. David Ballou, the director of sports performance, agreed.
During his appearance on Hey Coach on the Crimson Tide Sports Network on Wednesday, Ballou stated, “We had a very emphatic and direct message to our guys.” It wasn’t good enough what just transpired. The following issues were addressed.
Ballou pointed out that the meeting came before a demanding offseason. The Crimson Tide had just finished a 9–4 season, which featured a ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan. Additionally, Alabama did not make it to the College Football Playoffs.
In the age of the transfer portal, Nick Saban and DeBoer’s bridge year proved difficult. After Saban retired, Alabama players could have transferred, but the Crimson Tide lacked a robust transfer portal market to cover those vacancies. Alabama has to make every effort to maintain the roster.
Ballou stated, “You need to stay here and be in that mode because you had to be in a position of.” To be honest, that mode persisted for a while. It’s just the way college football is these days.
After 2024 was over, Alabama started over.
Ballou declared that we were done with that. It was, to be completely honest, “This is how we’re going to do things.” Leave if you don’t want to be here.
Since the meeting, the message has being implemented on a daily basis.
Ballou added, “The guys have done a great job.” They have given it their all and made a sincere effort to compete. They are answerable to one another.
Those Alabama athletes will now get an opportunity to demonstrate that on the field in roughly a week. On August 30, the Crimson Tide take on Florida State in the 2025 season opener.
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Nick Kelly writes about Alabama news for the Alabama Media Group and AL.com.Keep up with him on Instagram and Xand.
