Kalen DeBoer's view of competition, Jalen Milroe, Alabama football quarterbacks

Alabama football opened up spring practices on Monday, the first under new coach Kalen DeBoer. Plenty is changing, but there's at least one constant: Competition.

Does that extend to every position? DeBoer was asked Monday night if there is a clean slate every year with every position; he was also asked "is that your guy?" referencing quarterback Jalen Milroe.

"You want competition," DeBoer said. "The competition is always going to be there, and yeah someone had to take the first reps today with the ones. We lined up and we referred to them as that, and Jalen did. He’s putting everything into it he can along with the other guys who took those first reps. I fully expect those guys who are really hungry to be pushing those guys who are ahead of them to be their best, and that’s what you want in a football program. That’s certainly going to be the case here with so many good football players here on the football field."

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Milroe is returning after a 2023 season in which he was the primary starter for most of the season outside of the South Florida game. He was named a permanent team captain and second team All-SEC. Milroe accounted for 23 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns.

He is at the front of a quarterback room that returns Ty Simpson and Dylan Lonergan and also added Austin Mack via the transfer portal; Mack spent the 2023 season with Washington.

That gives Alabama a redshirt junior in Milroe, a redshirt sophomore in Simpson and two redshirt freshmen in Lonergan and Mack. Simpson was Milroe's primary backup in 2023.

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.