Kalen DeBoer previews Alabama vs. LSU on Hey Coach radio show

Kalen DeBoer returned this week to watch the full version of his radio show.

Alabama football coach participated in Hey Coach again for a full hour after calling in for 15 minutes during open week in late October.

This week, No. 11 Alabama faces No. 15 LSU on Saturday (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The winner will keep their playoff hopes alive. The loser will be virtually eliminated from CFP contention.

DeBoer discussed the matchup, among other topics, with radio host Chris Stewart of Baumhower’s Victory Grille in Tuscaloosa. Midfielder Kee Robinson also joined the show as a guest for the closing segments.

Here’s a summary of what was said.

Kalen DeBoer Radio Show: Live from Hey Coach

First segment

• DeBoer on bye week: “You have to make sure you use it the right way, and I think our guys did that.”
• Kalen DeBoer said he coached a game at Tiger Stadium in 2015 when DeBoer was at Eastern Michigan.
• “The trespassers are tired of hearing the speaker for the last two weeks…” DeBoer said, referring to the crowd noise. “Probably lost some hearing in the last two weeks.”
• DeBoer said Sunday afternoon practice felt like a night game because it got dark earlier. “The energy was extremely high. This has been rescheduled for Tuesday morning.”
• “We have a business approach,” DeBoer said of the team.
• “The preparation never stops,” DeBoer said.
• Kalen DeBoer said he knew about the false rumor on social media that he and his wife Nicole were expecting their third child because he received a ton of congratulatory messages about it. The Grand Bay kid jokingly congratulated DeBoer on the news.
• Kalen DeBoer said Austin Mack “did a great job of bringing a lot of different looks” in preparation for LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier.

Second segment

• DeBoer was asked about his hobbies outside of coaching football. “I’m pretty bored… I’d love to play golf… the rest of the time I spend with my family.”
• Kalen DeBoer said when he got an assistant job after being the head coach in Sioux Falls, he saw four more ways to do it. “Four more style variations.”
• Coaches will work their way back from games to gain an advantage in scoring.
• Kalen DeBoer on LSU: “I see a team that has great athletes, offensive, defensive, explosive… Well coached. I went through fire, at home, away, in close games.”
• Kalen DeBoer on the SEC: “If you want to challenge and see where you can take a team, this is the toughest league in the country.”
• DeBoer on the SEC: “You’re going to get a great opponent every week.”

Third segment

• Kee Robinson will be a guest on Hey Coach today.
• “The state coaches do a great job,” DeBoer said of Alabama’s high school coaches.
• “He makes the most of every day,” DeBoer said of Key Robinson.
• DeBoer said Alabama uses Robinson as an example of commitment to special teams.
• “Maintaining standards meant everything to me because that’s all I know,” Robinson said.
• “It gets loud out there,” Robinson said of Baton Rouge. “Sometimes even louder than Tennessee.”
• DeBoer said with a smile that there will be a different level of intensity at Tiger Stadium against Alabama compared to his last visit with Eastern Michigan.

Fourth segment

• “This team has a lot of grit, so having a zero on the board meant a lot,” Robinson said of the shutout against Missouri.
• “That’s a big part of what their defense does: negative plays,” DeBoer said of LSU’s defense. “It’s athleticism mixed with well-timed aggression.”
• Ke Robinson asked about what the University of Alabama means to him: “It means a lot… I really learned a lot just being here… I learned how to grow up and get things done.”
• Robinson said he grew up in a half-Alabama, half-Auburn family and grew up in Birmingham.
• “It feels like it’s been forever since we played,” DeBoer said. “I know the boys are looking forward to getting back on the football field.”
• DeBoer: “I expect us to be well prepared and ready to go on Saturday. Everything I’ve seen, I like where we are.”