Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer’s offensive system is good for wide receivers. Just last season, he helped put three of them in the NFL Draft, including Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan.

When he moved to Tuscaloosa from Washington during the offseason, he brought along wideouts coach JaMarcus Shephard to train the current Crimson Tide group. That’s a young room, so Shephard was looking for leadership.

He found some in Kendrick Law. Law is expected to fill one of the Tide’s starting receiver roles this season, but has led by example in a less appreciated area for the group.

“Kendrick has developed himself into being really our enforcer at the position,” Shephard said. “I take a lot of pride in the group really blocking on the perimeter and being violent in our blocking but having tremendous technique.”

The junior made his biggest contributions on special teams last season. He returned 17 kickoffs for 405 yards, while also chipping in with 15 catches for 135 yards.

He might not have made the biggest impact offensively, but he earned praise from one of his defensive teammates.

“Kendrick Law is a very hard worker,” Kool-Aid McKinstry, now of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, said in October. “He works very hard. He is always going 100% no matter what’s going on. I know in guarding him, he’s going to give his best. If we’re doing one-on-one drills, special teams, he’s going to do his best to win. He’s just a hard-working guy. The kind of guy I like to watch and the kind of guy I love to be on the team with.”

It’s a sentiment Shephard echoed. The coach explained how all the receivers know who and how to block on the outside.

According to Shephard, it’s about which of the Crimson Tide wideouts wants to block.

“We know where to go,” Shephard said. “We know the technique for it. Now it’s about the desire and want-to, and that young man always has the desire and want-to, every single play, every single time, without exception, to block on the perimeter. So, really can’t tell you how much I appreciate him and how he brings that mentality to the group. I can always point to him and his actions.”

Alabama opens the 2024 season on Saturday against Western Kentucky at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:05 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN.