Alabama opens spring practice Wednesday under Kalen DeBoer, who is entering his second spring with a program that, by the standards of the previous era, is still in the early stages of adjustment.

The Crimson Tide finished 10-3 in 2025 — a record that would have been considered a success at virtually any other program in the country and was treated as a disappointment in Tuscaloosa. The fan base's expectations were formed over fifteen years of Nick Saban's program. DeBoer's job is not to match that standard immediately but to demonstrate that the trajectory is correct and that the work being done in the building is the kind of work that leads somewhere.

The quarterback situation is the most significant spring storyline. Ty Simpson, who started eleven games in 2025, is returning for his junior season. But Alabama used the transfer portal aggressively in February and added West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol, who is an immediate competition. DeBoer has been deliberately vague about how the competition will be structured. Spring will begin answering the question.

The defensive roster, which was a genuine strength in 2025, is largely returning. The unit lost two players to the NFL Draft in the secondary and one linebacker, but the core of what DeBoer's defensive coordinator built is intact. That continuity matters. A defense that already knows the system has a meaningful head start on the teams that installed new schemes in January.

Alabama's spring game is traditionally one of the most-attended college football events in the country regardless of what happens during the year. That will be true again in April. The team's performance in front of a capacity crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium will be one of the more visible data points of the spring evaluation season.