Kalen DeBoer confirmed that Alabama will make some changes to this year’s Spring Game.
Last month, Alabama announced that Bryant-Denny Stadium will host the annual A-Day Spring Game on Saturday, April 12. DeBoer told On3’s Pete Nakos that the showcase won’t look the same as past events.
“A lot of times here, the A-Day Game, it’s been more of a practice, and there’s been some scrimmaging, not necessarily much of a game,” DeBoer told Nakos. “Even when I was at Fresno State, we called it the spring preview. Especially this year, there’s some things we’re working through with some injuries and so forth. So it’ll definitely be modified. We want to try to have some type of event around April 12.”
Alabama appears to be the latest program to abandon a traditional spring game. Nebraska and Texas are among the major schools to cancel their scrimmage.
Replay Photos/Getty Images
Last week, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian told Kay Adams that they’re taking more of an “NFL-driven” approach to their offseason.
“I just don’t know if rolling the ball out, playing the game when we only get 15 practices is the best for us to maximize the opportunities that we get,” Sarkisian said. “So it’s going to be a little bit of a different approach, but I think college football is changing right now.”
The changes aren’t related to decreased fan interest. Alabama reported a turnout of 72,358 people for last year’s spring game, which saw running back Jam Miller earn MVP honors with two touchdowns in DeBoer’s unofficial Crimson Tide debut.
Alabama went 9-4 in DeBoer’s roller-coaster first season. The Crimson Tide rode an early wave of success when defeating Georgia before suffering a stunning loss to Vanderbilt the following week.
Their College Football Playoff hopes dwindled with a late 24-3 loss at Oklahoma. Alabama then coughed off three turnovers in a ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan.
The preicse new Spring Game format remains unclear, but it could offer fans some early glimpse of the school’s quarterback battle. Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and Keelon Russell are among the candidates to replace Jalen Milroe in 2025.
Related: Paul Finebaum Gives Ultimatum To Kalen DeBoer Entering 2025 Season
