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Greetings from "Can't Wait For Saturday," your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He'll give you his views each day on the game he loves
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At first, it looked like the Kalen DeBoer era at Alabama had gotten off to a shaky start.
Nothing major. Just a misstep here. A bobble there.
Understand, no program in college football is observed closer than the one in Tuscaloosa.That's what DeBoer took on when he agreed to follow legend Nick Saban. Constant scrutiny. Like being a Royal. Only with football.
The (Crimson) Tide appears to be turning the right direction for the new guy. The latest get for Alabama is the the reported pending return of starting tackle Kadyn Proctor.
For a minute there, it looked like the Des Moines, Iowa, area native would play the 20224 season in Iowa City. He actually enrolled in spring classes at Iowa, which is generally an indication of desire to stay.
But Proctor had an apparent change of heart and is said to be going back to Bama.
Hard to blame him. Alabama is a yearly playoff contender while Iowa had to fire the coach's son offensive coordinator because the unit was so weak. One great offensive tackle isn't going to change that.
You feel a bit for Proctor, who seems to be getting pulled in multiple directions. Not being in his shoes hard to imagine what he is going through, but certainly there are some sleepless nights.
Back to DeBoer, he is good as long as he wins every game in 2024, starting with the opener against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31. Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, LSU and Oklahoma are also on the schedule. Fun.
