Alabama’s Player’s Only Meeting Featured a Non-Player Giving His Two-Cents

TUSCALOOSA, AL. - The Crimson Tide held a players' only meeting on Sunday after Alabama fell to Florida State 31-17 in week one of the season.

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Players' only meetings are not uncommon, especially after a loss. It can help players air out grievances, allow the leaders on the team to step up as leaders, and allow for the team to refocus and prevent a losing streak from starting.

Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard, one of the few bright spots in the 31-17 loss to Florida State, said on Tuesday there was "a lot of energy" as Alabama prepared for ULM on Saturday. However, the energy didn't come from the players during the meeting. Alabama had an infiltrator who wasn't a player.

"Coach DeBoer was actually in there, and he had his two cents to say, even though it was a players-only meeting," Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor said after the game. "But he had to get some stuff off our chest. He just brought that energy.

"You have to sustain that energy, and we took it in because you can't be flat. You can't be flat, or you're going to lose. It definitely helped when coach DeBoer came in there and brought that energy, no doubt. We carried that over as a team."

All of the questions were answered, if only for a week, in Alabama's dismantling of ULM on Saturday night. Kalen DeBoer told Jordan Rodgers of the SEC Network that the Tide would play new faces in the game against ULM, and Proctor was excited to see new faces get some reps in the Crimson Tide's win.

"We played fast, and I'm just really proud of everybody that got in there," Proctor said. "I mean, that's the big thing. I like seeing the young guys out there. Like, forget what I did, I want to see Jackson Lloyd out there, Michael Carroll out there, Joe Ionata, guys that don't get too many opportunities, but they took advantage of it for sure."

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.