Alabama football has one main offseason storyline entering the 2025 season. The Crimson Tide will have a new starting quarterback, with Jalen Milroe off to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

Returnees Ty Simpson and Austin Mack are competing alongside true freshman Keelon Russell for the job. While Simpson is the clubhouse leader after spring practice, UA coaches have emphasized that the battle isn’t over yet.

On Tuesday, speaking to reporters at SEC spring meetings, DeBoer was asked about the challenge of coaching quarterbacks whose skillsets are so different from Milroe’s.

“We do have probably three guys that are more alike than different,” DeBoer said “Jalen was certainly different, and I mean that in a positive way. I mean that with the utmost respect for what Jalen’s game is all about because he’s got some special elements to his game when it comes to running that, really, I have never been able to coach and very few have seen.”

The strengths of Milroe’s game all involved his athleticism. He had a strong arm to connect on deep balls, and speed that made him Alabama’s best weapon in the run game last year.

However, he struggled with consistency. Milroe threw baffling interceptions, playing especially poorly in Alabama’s losses, when the Crimson Tide offense seemed stagnant.

DeBoer said the offense will need to change, to emphasize the skills of the three quarterbacks currently vying for the position.

“I think with Jalen, he just had added elements to his game, right?” DeBoer said. “He could throw the ball, but you had to make sure you were utilizing, to benefit your team, the things he could do with his legs. I think that making sure you’re incorporating more offense where he can take advantage of that and we can take advantage of that, it then forces you to have to figure out where you’re taking away, because there are only so many snaps you play in a game or a season.

“Who’s touching the ball? And it’s going to take away from someone else, and you’re trying to figure out that balancing act. And a lot of it has to depend on the other personnel you have around him, and that will continue to be the case as we move forward this year.”

Alabama will begin preseason camp in early August, as it prepares to open the season with a trip to Florida State on Aug. 30. SEC spring meetings will continue through Thursday in Miramar Beach, Fl.