Alabama is still grappling with the growing pains of missing the playoffs. The top program is not used to having their season cut short and are learning to grow from it. However, they aren’t all bad news for the Crimson Tide. Ahead of the Reliaquest Bowl matchup with Michigan, quarterback Jalen Milroe issued a positive statement to head coach Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the team.
Michigan and Alabama will meet again for the first time in almost an year. They last played on New Year’s Day and will now clash on New Year’s Eve. Both programs haven’t faced each other since last season’s College Football Playoffs semifinal at the Rose Bowl.
Then, the Wolverines defeated the Tide 27-20 enroute to a National Championship with Jim Harbaugh and J.J. McCarthy. Milroe and Alabama had been hoping for a shot at redemption since.
Both programs have changed drastically since New Year’s Day, however. Harbaugh and Saban are no longer at the helm, and it will be Sherrone Moore against Kalen DeBoer this time around. Michigan’s quarterback will be Davis Warren, and many doubted whether Milroe would play or would choose to opt-out of the bowl game.
Milroe made his stance clear, though. “The mission right now is to complete the season,” Milroe said, via On3. “We have one more mission ahead, which is attacking Michigan, and that’s the whole thought process right now. Being our absolute best so we can take care of our business when it goes to play in Tampa.
“It’s all about going 1-0, preparing the right way, and so that’s where my focus is at, is winning this game, preparing the right way, taking care of my body so we can be our best us.”
Alabama LB Keanu Koht transfers to Vanderbilt
Much hype surrounded Keanu Koht as he entered the 2024 NCAA season. The four-star recruit in the 2021 class was expected to evolve into a bigger role under DeBoer.
However, it was quite the contrary. Koht didn’t play much to start the campaign and was suspended by the coach midway through the season. Ultimately Koht entered the transfer portal and has now announced he will join the Vanderbilt Commodores.
There might be some bad blood between Koht and DeBoer, especially considering the linebacker’s decision to sign with another SEC program—the one that handed DeBoer his worst loss in his first year in Tuscaloosa. It seems too coincidental to be a mere chance.
Vanderbilt and Alabama will meet again in 2025, setting up a highly-anticipated reunion between DeBoer and Koht.