'Starving' Tide ready for revenge tour, second year under DeBoer - ESPN

ATLANTA — As Alabama looks to improve upon last season's 9-4 record in its second season under head coach Kalen DeBoer, those within the program are well aware of the lofty expectations but say they enter this season with a greater sense of comfort surrounding the program's future under DeBoer.

«I feel like especially last year, it is hard, man,» Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson told ESPN on Wednesday at SEC media days. «You're coming from Coach Saban to Coach DeBoer, everyone — everyone — is going to have something to say. Everyone wants to know, 'How's the new coach?' or 'What's the difference?' or something like that. But yeah man, we were all for Coach DeBoer. I remember he walked in — the first day he walked in — we all sat up in our chairs ready to go. And from that day we all been on the DeBoer train, probably more now than ever.»

Last year, Alabama lost four games and finished outside the Associated Press Top 10 for the first time since 2007. It was the third time in 11 seasons the Tide missed the playoff, this time finishing No. 11 in the selection committee's final ranking but getting bumped from the 12-team field to make room for three-loss ACC champion Clemson.

While preseason favorite Texas has garnered the most spotlight here at the College Football Hall of Fame, where media days are being held, there's a quiet confidence brewing at Alabama.

«We're starving,» Lawson said. «We're not hungry, we're like starving. And that's different. That's different.… Just to see no one transfer out of here when the time came, man, it just shows you that we got guys that's willing to do what they have to do to make us the most successful team that we can be. I'm just super excited. I know the guys are ready, and we go at