Things have been different for Alabama football this spring. Kalen DeBoer’s first 14 practices as the Crimson Tide’s head coach have included the installs of totally new offensive and defensive systems, plus work to bring UA’s new-look roster together.

Now there’s just one practice left, Saturday’s A-Day game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Speaking after practice on Thursday, DeBoer where he’s seen the most growth in the Tide throughout the hectic spring.

“I think just the competitive stamina that we’ve continued to show,” DeBoer said. “It’s easy to come off Practice 1, it’s easy to come out after you get back from spring break. But for us to just continue to stay the course, and that’s reminiscent of what I said early when I first got here and the guys decided to stay, work through it and believe in this place. But they’ve just continued to work, and I kind of hit on that in, coming in with an opening here today, just because it was just impressive to me.”

DeBoer said the spring game will look different than in past years. The offense and defense will face off, rather than dividing the roster into two different squads.

The traditions surrounding the game will remain the same, from the 2023 permanent captains ceremony before, to the steak and beans dinner afterward. Alabama’s players could have been distracted by the upcoming event, but DeBoer said their focus was impressive during Thursday’s penultimate practice.

“Nothing where we’re coasting into these last 48 hours leading up to Saturday,” DeBoer said. “They came out here, worked and wanted to continue to play ball, were asking for one more drive and all that kind of stuff. They’re just enjoying the process, enjoying the step. So I think that competitive stamina, just continuing to get better and focused on the right things there.”

The A-Day game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It will be aired on ESPN.