TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Of all the things that went wrong for Alabama in Saturday’s season-opening loss at Florida State, one thing really stood out: a lack of effort.
It was evident to the Crimson Tide when they evaluated their 31-17 setback in Tallahassee that kicked off Kalen DeBoer’s second season as head coach.
“A lot of coaches (are) fed up,” said tight end Josh Cuevas, a fifth-year senior in his second season at Alabama after following DeBoer from Washington. “But it’s just kind of how it’s going to be for the rest of the season.”
Alabama entered the season No. 8 in the preseason AP Top 25 but dropped this week to No. 21, it lowest ranking in 17 years. Now the Tide are trying to step up their intensity and hustle during practice this week before hosting Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, an effort to begin to reclaim the “Bama standard” that has made the program a regular contender for Southeastern Conference titles and national championships.
The Tide didn’t come close to that standard against the Seminoles, and players don’t have to look far to find clips showing them loafing at times and getting outmuscled on nearly every play.
“Everybody sees it watching film,” linebacker Qua Russaw said. “Everybody’s not running to the ball. We addressed that at practice. Coaches are on our tail about getting to the ball and finishing with the ball carrier the right way.”
Where does Alabama go from here? The Tide held a players-only meeting before practice Sunday to address the problem. Perhaps the most perplexing part of the performance: Alabama is a veteran team with 15 returning starters and only two underclassmen in the starting lineup. Given that, players are confident a turnaround is imminent.
Several veteran leaders spoke up, including receiver Germie Bernard, center Parker Brailsford, linebacker Deontae Lawson, offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor and quarterback Ty Simpson.
“We’re going to allow our players to get it fixed,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “Certainly there was enough blame to go around. You can point to every position on the field that had issues in terms of not executing at the level they’re capable of and not playing with the passion, energy and effort that we have established here already. Those are things we’re going to allow guys to get fixed.”
Getting to the why of the performance is another part of the process. Coaches and players were unified in saying they felt the preparation was strong but the execution wasn’t up to par. Given that Alabama is 5-5 in its past 10 games, it seems to be leaning toward a trend, and an unpleasant one.
The biggest message from staff to players is to just play free.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the pressure,” Russaw said. “I feel like it’s more of guys trying to do their jobs and a little scared to mess up. We’ve got guys all over the team athletic-wise who can just have fun. That’s all the coaches are trying to get us to do. Just be ourselves. No matter the call, the scheme, no matter what, just flying around having fun.”
DeBoer’s message Monday was to “cut it loose,” meaning play the right way while paying no mind to any outside noise. After this week, the Tide host Big Ten member Wisconsin on Sept. 6, then have an open date before beginning SEC play at No. 4 Georgia on Sept 27.
“These guys, they’re great kids. They want it bad,” DeBoer said. “It’s just showing them. A lot of times, they already know. And making sure that we continue to be intentional.
“That’s a word that I use a lot, and it’s going to be something I use a lot more this week again. Just be intentional on what we’re trying to accomplish with quality reps and make sure that every rep is done at a high level, from the effort to the execution.”