Kalen DeBoer on the new recruit “I just cannot wait to get him there,” said Ryan Williams.

Kalen DeBoer was in Mobile on Thursday night, the site of one the great early recruiting victories in his still-short tenure as Alabama head football coach. DeBoer was in town to give the keynote address at the annual Team Focus Fundraiser at the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel. During a short Q&A with reporters, he was asked about a possible 2024 role for Ryan Williams, the 5-star Saraland High School wide receiver and two-time Mr. Football who re-committed to the Crimson Tide less than two weeks after DeBoer was hired to replace Nick Saban.

“We’ll play the best guys, guys that can get out there and help us,” DeBoer said. “It doesn’t matter what age they are. And Ryan certainly has got a very special skillset — explosiveness, along with just consistent production. “I think from him, what’s been just so impressive, it goes back to the week we met with him and he came on campus. There was so much thrown at him, a new head coach, new coordinator, new position coach. And when I hear him talk about what it is within our program that he really enjoyed and is excited about. He retained so much of that information, which leads you to believe that man, this is an important decision for him, that he was being really thorough, being really thoughtful. I just can’t wait to get him there with our guys because that attention to detail, is something that you just can’t take for granted.” Williams re-classified to 2024 from the 2025 recruiting class, meaning he is currently finishing up classwork at Saraland before officially joining the Alabama football team in June. As many high-profile freshmen do, he did not participate in spring practice. Alabama held its A-Day scrimmage on April 13. A little more than three weeks removed from the end of spring drills, DeBoer said his team showed the right mindset. “Most importantly, I like our attitude, our energy, the effort we put forth,” DeBoer said. “We have a team-first mindset right now when it comes to guys across the board. These guys are here for a reason. They want to develop themselves individually but they want to win a championship. And so it’s been pretty apparent as we went through the spring exactly what their focus is. We got better each and every day and that’s all you can ask. And that leads into good momentum going into the summer here. These guys get a couple of weeks away, kind of just ease their mind and refresh their mind and their body. And we’ll hit the ground running come June.”

The transfer portal officially closed on Wednesday, though players currently in the portal are free to sign at any point between now and the beginning of the season. Alabama lost four players to the portal after spring practice — safeties Tony Mitchell and Peyton Woodyard, center James Brockermeyer (who has already committed to TCU) and defensive lineman Khurtiss Perry. The Crimson Tide also recently added commitments from safety Kameron Howard (Charlotte), kicker Graham Nicholson (Miami, Ohio) and offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor, who is back at Alabama after transferring to Iowa in January. DeBoer said his team is targeting a handful of other players currently in the portal. “There’s guys that we’re working through that we will have visits or we’re trying to get them set to come to campus,” DeBoer said. “So I think in the end, I feel good about the direction we’re going, with making the roster better, improving the roster. And that’s what it’s about. We don’t have a lot of spots that we can fill with this from a scholarship standpoint. But every one of them is important for this fall and I think our roster will be improved when we are done. When you take the additions and the subtractions and see where we’re at when it comes this fall.” Other topics DeBoer addressed in his Q&A with the media: Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, formerly the head coach at South Alabama in Mobile: “I think the guys have really enjoyed being under Kane’s leadership. That starts with the coaches. I just think he’s done a good job uniting that group. You walk into any session, whether it’s the staff meetings or the defensive unit meetings, linebacker meetings, you can just see the leader that he is and he’s got a plan. He’s got great energy that he brings to the table. I think you can feel from the top on down just the imp