TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama football fans hungry for a return to national title contention filled Bryant-Denny Stadium for Nick Saban’s first spring game.
Kalen DeBoer stepped into a much different situation 17 years later. The former Washington Huskies coach wrapped up his first spring with the Crimson Tide on Saturday just a few months into the task of trying to maintain the juggernaut Saban built — with DeBoer doing so while navigating a very different world of name, image and likeness compensation and the NCAA transfer portal.
His unofficial debut at Bryant-Denny drew an announced crowd of 72,358 for A-Day game, nearly 2,000 more than Husky Stadium’s capacity at Washington. If the scrimmage was not a true gauge of how Alabama will look in DeBoer’s first season, the turnout illustrates the level of interest — and perhaps curiosity and anxiety.
“Saban’s the type of guy, he built something,” said season-ticket holder Todd Eddleman, a 58-year-old from Cullman who also was at Saban’s first spring game. “He doesn’t want to see it lose either. He’s proud of what he built. This guy right here, he can keep it up there, there’s no doubt in my mind. I think he’s a great recruiter and coach. I think he’s done a fabulous job, and that’s not an easy thing to do.
“I think his response will be the same as Saban: When Saban was here and 100,000 showed up, he looked at his assistant coaches and said, ‘I think we came to the right spot.'”