Spring practice is officially in the books, and it will be just a few short weeks before Alabama is back to work preparing for the 2025 season.

It will be Year 2 for coach Kalen DeBoer, whose team posted a disappointing (by Crimson Tide standards) 9-4 record a year ago. During a speaking engagement in Mobile on Thursday, DeBoer was asked about what fans should be excited about in regard to his team this fall.

“I just think there’s a lot of continuity,” DeBoer said prior to speaking at the annual Team Focus fundraiser at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza hotel. “… It’s unfinished business, I’ve heard that from a few guys. Or just some things that they want to continue to build on. They have that belief and trust that we can do that, not just in themselves, but in what we do in our program and how we operate. So just excited for that time when it comes.

“We still have a lot of work to do. This whole summer — and when you build your team, is during the summer — added to what we’ve done already. Just really, really looking forward to the grit that I think this team will have when we get out in the field. Us taking the experiences we had from last year now, learning from them, and moving forward.”

Alabama ended the spring with an (at least officially) unsettled situation at quarterback, though offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb hinted last week that junior Ty Simpson was ahead of redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and true freshman Keelon Russell as the team headed into the summer. On Thursday, DeBoer was asked specifically about Mack, a one-time Washington transfer who followed the coach to Alabama last season.

“All three of them just keep pushing, keep pressing,” DeBoer said. “All three quarterbacks need to continue to get better here this summer. And Austin will be exactly that. He knows that. He’s gonna do that till the last day. He steps on the football field because that’s just who he is.

“He’s one of the hardest workers on the football team. And so, I don’t ever have to question whether that’s gonna happen. He’s got extreme arm talent. And just he, along with those other guys in that room, know we’re gonna have a great competitive and a healthy summer of working together, but also competing for that spot.”

However the quarterback situation shakes out, DeBoer said he’s not likely to play more than one quarterback in a given game if he can help it.

“I think it’s a lot easier to just have one out there, be in a rhythm,” DeBoer said. “There’s been times where I’ve started seasons doing that, and we’ve gotten through it. I can think two or three in particular.

“Where you went four or five games, but that’s not really our mindset right now. I think when we get to the fall, we want to be settled in, and I think that helps just all around with leadership. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.

“And I just think that most of the quarterbacks we have, all three quarterbacks we have, are all very similar. Maybe if you had one that was completely different than the other, you have packages and so forth. But I don’t think that’s the case for us.”

Other topics DeBoer addressed with reporters …

The retirement of ESPN College GameDay icon Lee Corso:

“Every Saturday, at least when your schedule allows, you turn on the TV, College Game Day and all that — it’s certainly right there, front and center, entertaining for the fans,” DeBoer said. “And obviously, there’s a history as a coach, too. So I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people that are going to miss what he brings each and every weekend.”

How different things are inside the Alabama football complex from a year ago when he was first hired:

“Last year a lot of those meetings were just ‘get-to-knows.’ … Now we’re talking about what we’ve been through and really how we need to attack the days and the months ahead of us. And so just everything is shifted towards the relationships being deeper, and the experiences we share and the experiences that we want to have in the future.

“Everything’s working towards that, coaching staff and the continuity, too. That’s a big deal. We’re able to evolve and adjust to what our personnel and us having a better understanding of that, and also just adjusting things that you install and want to continue to develop.”

The transfer portal, which opened for 10 days beginning Wednesday:

“I think there’ll be some (activity), I guess from our standpoint, any way you can improve the roster, we will do that. So we’ve been very good at, I think, the last portals in December, that window there.

“I think we did a really good job of managing the roster, especially with kind of areas that we need to open up and make room for guys coming in, and just find that right mix of guys that are returning with newcomers that came on board. I really like, obviously, our freshman class. They were extremely highly regarded, but also the few transfers we brought in have really settled in and done a good job of just going to work and have been accepted in a great way by the rest of the team.”

Mobile-area natives Deontae Lawson and Ryan Williams, both of whom missed all or part of spring due to injury:

“We want them to get healthy, and Deontae’s doing an amazing job. While he’s been coming back from his injury of just being a leader, coaching, being engaged, that’s hard to do. That’s harder than people realize, and he’s been right there in the middle of it all.

“And this guy eats, sleeps, and breathes football. He’s all about Alabama, and he wants to leave this place on a high note, not just for himself, but the program.

“And so he’s been extremely engaged. We’ve had more talks this last couple months than we had time to do all last season, so that’s been really enjoyable on my end.

“And Ryan, just taking those next steps, year one to year two, it’s a big deal. And he’s just in it, he’s a great teammate. As you all know, just an unbelievable young man. And no doubt in my mind, he’ll be out there taking that next step on what he did last season.”

Running backs Dre’Lyn Washington and Akylin Dear, both of whom joined the team this spring, Washington out of the transfer portal from Louisiana, Dear from high school:

“I think Dre’Lyn really had his moments where he popped and did some things. I can think of a couple nice runs in some team times where they were required to make full contact, take him to the ground. And broke some tackles, made some people miss. I think he does a good job on the blocks. That’s just a matter of continuing to learn the offense, which I thought he really did a good job of, considering it was his first semester with us.

“AK is a freshman; (he’s) just got to grow. He’s made great strides in the weight room. So just stayed the course for him, much like many of the other freshmen.”

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Team Focus was founded in 2000 by former coach and ESPN broadcaster Mike Gottfried and his wife Micki, and now operates chapters in three states. Its mission is to provide mentorship and guidance for young men without a father figure in the home.

For more information about Team Focus, call (251) 635-1515 or visit teamfocususa.org.