Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is set to lead his team into the second round of the College Football Playoff as it competes for yet another national title.
DeBoer hopes to live up to the expectations of the Alabama fans given the program’s rich history and success under head coach Nick Saban, who won six national titles with the program.
“He put all this time into this program to make it what it is. To me, the legacy continues when the program continues to grow and improve and be better, even when you’re done,” DeBoer said of Saban. “I think that’s the way he’s always been… There’s a lot of players on our team that he still recruited and brought in. And he cares about them and just wants them to be successful.”
While DeBoer leans into the success of his predecessor, Saban is offering a word of advice.
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Saban warned Alabama that the team will have to change its defensive identity against Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers.
“Alabama has been primarily a zone pass defense team. Look for them to play a lot more man-to-man in this game. They got to, because I think they’ll get picked apart [if they play zone],” Saban said, via Alabama reporter Mike Rodak.
Alabama enters its game against the Hoosiers as the underdog, something the program isn’t exactly familiar with after the success of Saban. A win over Indiana would see the Crimson Tide face off the winner of the Oregon-Texas Tech game.
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