Kalen DeBoer shook up the college football world on Thursday with one of the most absurd statements of the offseason: Alabama isn't competing right now because recruiting isn't on an equal playing field with NIL.
On3's Justin Hokanson dunked on DeBoer with a deadly facetious retort.
"You see, Alabama just needs to get back on a balanced playing field and get away from this highest-bidder situation that’s been so devastating to their recruiting efforts," Hokanson wrote.
DeBoer said he wants things to go back to the way they were a few years ago.
"Having a more balanced playing field helps our situation. It allows us to get where it was at one point just a few years back. Where recruiting is real recruiting, not just someone who's gonna put in the highest bid," DeBoer said, per On3.
It's no wonder DeBoer wants to go back to the way things were. His first Crimson Tide team was deemed not "typical" Alabama.
"The CFP argument was dumb was because anyone who watched Alabama this year knew it wasn't typical Alabama," the Athletic's Chris Vannini wrote.
"The ceiling was high and the floor was low. Going to bat so hard for *this* Bama team, to tear down other schools having great years, was such a bad look, and here we are."
DeBoer understandably wants to go back to the Nick Saban way of recruiting. Unfortunately for DeBoer, Saban was getting those recruits because of more than just his BMW dealerships.
DeBoer doesn't have relationships in the south just yet. That doesn't mean he won't be able to catch up, but it definitely means he isn't able to dominate when guys like Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, and Hugh Freeze are several years, or in Smart's case, nearly a decade, into establishing themselves.
DeBoer needs to do the work. Not complain about how things aren't working like they used to.