Tyler Booker, Alabama stars praise Kalen DeBoer for pride and courage to succeed Nick Saban

Tyler Booker expects to hear his name called early in the 2025 NFL Draft in 2 weeks, as he is 1 of the best offensive lineman prospects in the country. Last season, he played at Alabama for coach Kalen DeBoer, who was in his first season replacing Nick Saban as the head guy in Tuscaloosa.

Ahead of Saturday’s A-Day event, Booker was talking about the respect he had for DeBoer taking on such a challenge of replacing a legend like Saban.

“I want to say thank you to coach DeBoer for having the pride and self-confidence to follow up the greatest of all time,” Booker said. “I am very excited to see what you do with the team for the rest of your years.”

Malachi Moore, who had an up-and-down season for Alabama, had many similar things to say about his coach.

“Shout-out to coach DeBoer, like T-Book said, having the courage enough to come in behind coach Saban,” Moore said. “Now he is leaving his legacy, and I think the program is going in the right direction.”

Both of those players will be playing in the NFL and figure to be a big part of a team’s future. Deontae Lawson was also there speaking to the media, and he will be back in Tuscaloosa in 2025.

Much like his former 2 teammates, Lawson has a lot of respect for what DeBoer is doing.

“Big shoutout to coach DeBoer, man,” Lawson said. “When he came in, me and these guys took everything he said and tried to imply to our teammates. The year didn’t go how we expected, but so excited to come back for another year.”

The Crimson Tide had an up-and-down year last year. At times, the team looked as good as anyone in the country with the win against Georgia. However, inconsistency hurt the team, and the Crimson Tide failed to win at least 10 games in a season for the first time in 17 seasons.

However, judging by the players, there is a lot of confidence among the team that DeBoer is the guy for the challenge. Alabama opens the season at Florida State.

Mark Kern