Shaun Alexander Discusses New Look Alabama, Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year
By Reed Wallach
Alabama will be going through some seismic changes in 2024 as the team changes head coaches in light of Nick Saban’s retirement, taping Kalen DeBoer to lead the Crimson Tide into a new era.
However, as Shaun Alexander says, this is business as usual for the Crimson Tide.
Alexander, on behalf of the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year, spoke with Sports Illustrated to discuss the consistency of Alabama’s reign at the top of college football and his award.
“We’re used to this at Alabama, but it’s always fresh when an icon leaves,” Alexander told Sports Illustrated.
“I think Alabama did a great job hiring Coach DeBoer. When you have an iconic coach like Nick Saban, you want to get somebody that knows how to win, but does it in a totally different way.”
He continued to talk about the difference in philosophy, but the same end result.
“Saban was strong defense, Coach DeBoer is strong offense. Coach Saban is no music, this is all work. Coach DeBoer has music blasting and has guys running up and down the field. Coach Saban uses four-letter words, Coach DeBoer doesn’t use four-letter words! At the end of the day, what’s the similarity? Both are going to have a wealth of resources, talent, come in and help, and people that believe in the program and always be winning.”
While Alexander cautioned not to put the two in the same realm, Saban is amongst the most successful coaches in the sport's long history, but DeBoer has a growing track record of success after taking Washington to the National Championship last season, improving his head coaching record to 104-12.
In a changing college football landscape, Alexander is excited about what the future holds at Alabama, which he attended from 1995-1999 and won SEC Player of the Year in 1999, but he is also excited about the future of the sport.
The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year is given out to the best freshman (or redshirt freshman) in each class. The award has been given to NFL stars including Trevor Lawrence, and Will Anderson Jr. as well as No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft Drake Maye. Last season, the award went to SEC Freshman Player of the Year Caleb Downs, who is now playing safety at Ohio State.
In honor of the HOT 37 list of candidates that was released this week ahead of the season, Alexander spoke with SI to discuss the qualities he is looking for when casting his vote for the award at the end of the season.
There are four key pillars for this award: talent, ambassador, character, and legend, as Alexander explained.
“The way we pick it is the most pure ways to do it,” he said. “We turn on the film, if they got talent, we see that.”
Alexander continued about character saying, “Character, we do a little research and call the schools and learn about each kid…Character is a big thing for us. Next is ambassador. Ambassador is about what your school thinks about you. Do they actually like you? When you leave, I know they want your talent, but do they want you to be a fixture of the school. It touches on the character again, but also lets us know a little bit more about the guy.”
As the award seeks out some of the most talented players in the sport that will carry the award with them into the pros, finding the right player is important. “The last one is always the most fun, we call it being legends. Legends is what the NFL calls a retired player. So to be a retried player, you have to get there and perform and its always fun to pick those guys out.
Watch the full interview with Shaun Alexander below!