MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Alabama football‘s Kalen DeBoer has seen a hunger from his players as they prepare for their first season with him as head coach.
From where does that hunger stem?
“Whether it’s to prove people right or prove people wrong, I don’t know,” DeBoer said Tuesday at SEC spring meetings. “Some people are excited about what it looks like. Others are casting some doubt.”
But that uncertainty isn’t a bad thing because either way, DeBoer has seen that drive from his players.
“It certainly applies to the LANK mentality that they have,” DeBoer said. “I’m excited to see what this summer brings about as far as their progression and building on what we did this spring.”
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LANK, which stands for “Let All Naysayers Know” became a popular phrase for the 2023 Alabama football team, fueled by starters and stars Terrion Arnold and Jalen Milroe. Arnold is off to the NFL but Milroe returns at quarterback for DeBoer’s first team. And the LANK mentality persists.
“I’m excited about the hunger these guys have,” DeBoer said.
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men’s basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
