SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 17, 2024

Tyler Booker

Alabama Crimson Tide

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Day three of Media Days. Tyler Booker. We will start with questions.

Q. I want to know what do you think helps stabilize a locker room during a period of change?

TYLER BOOKER: Togetherness really helps to stabilize a locker room during a period of change. This is the tightest knit group is right now since my past three years of being here because we have been through an experience together. I'm not going to say it's traumatic, but we've been through something together. So we can all look at each other no matter what we're going through and be like ok, this guy stayed when it was hard, this guy stayed when it was hard, because it was easy for them. We're being looking at each in the locker room saying this is my brother. He stayed here for me.

Q. New Haven in the house?

TYLER BOOKER: Yes, sir.

Q. Tyler, the offensive line is like a chorus line. How do you stay in step together to improve last year when you had a lot of sacks?

TYLER BOOKER: We have been taking a lot of time to work on our pass protection individually and we have been taking a lot of sets together as well because there was a lot of transition in the offensive line, people were moving around in different spots. So now that we have guys playing next to each other, we have three returning starters and we have been focusing on working together even without the coaches on our free time. That's how bad we want to be great. That's how bad we want it and while we did fall short when it came to pass protection last year, we are going to build on our run game.

Q. Tyler, I want to go back to your first question from George. In the coach and transition, right? The three guys that kinda pulled the locker room together were you and Jalen and Malachi. All three of you looking around, some are gone. Walk me through those 72 hours where you all I assume got together and said we've got to hold this thing down.

TYLER BOOKER: First of all I'm the lucky one because I got my guy back. But those first 72 hours were crucial, and we said hey we're going to stay here and win a national championship. Malachi has one from his freshman year but we want one. We want this to be our team, our national championship. We have the talent in house to be able to do that. We were 7 points away from winning a national championship. We can't lose sight of that so we had to try our best to keep everybody here but to everybody who left, we wish them the best of luck.

Q. Oklahoma and Texas bring a storied rivalry to the SEC but what can those fans expect and see out of other rivalries in the SEC?

TYLER BOOKER: They have a great rivalry, the Red River rivalry but the SEC has them as well, the Iron Bowl, us playing Tennessee and this is a conference built off of tradition where we are blessed to have two storied programs in this conference to make it better.

Q. Kind of a fun question, the Olympics are coming up. I was wondering if you were to be an Olympian and you were on an Olympic team, what team would you be a part of or what sport would you play?

TYLER BOOKER: I would do track and I would throw. Up to the 8th grade I threw shot put, discus and javelin. I was good in shot put and discus but in javelin I won regionals for the northeast. So if I wasn't playing football I would be out there heading to Paris soon.

Q. Guys don't get too many recruits from the Chattanooga area but Amari Jefferson is coming in for you guys. Do you see the play-making abilities he has and maybe separating from the pack and contributing on the team in the fall or in the future?

TYLER BOOKER: Definitely. Amari and a bunch of other guys have come in ready to work. These guys don't complain, they're looking for ways to get better. For example, Will Sanders is in my office in my room. Every day after practice it's how do you this, how do you do that? They're so ready and willing to learn. I'm excited to be able to teach those guys this year.

Q. What can you say are the biggest deferences between an off-season with head coach Nick Saban and an off season under Kalen DeBoer and what's similar about their approaches?

TYLER BOOKER: There weren't many differences. Schedule wise, we had a few practices before spring break and I feel like that helped because we were able to go over the break with practices under our belt. Obviously the practice schedule was different but same intensity, we have a lot of walk-throughs, we did a lot of things to prepare for this upcoming season, like I said, the intensity, that Bama standard hasn't changed.

Q. Tyler, last season in the Arkansas-Alabama game Landon Jackson 3 and a half sacks, what do you remember about going against him in that game?

TYLER BOOKER: Landon Jackson had a great game that day, he is a great player.

Q. The difference with Saban and DeBoer, a lot of people are saying a little more relaxed with media it's more wide open. How do you as a leader keep your team responsible for this is Bama standard?

TYLER BOOKER: I wouldn't say it's more relaxed, Coach DeBoer lets the media in more but the standard is the standard on the field, off the field, in the classroom on the microphone. So the standard is the standard. You're going to represent your family and yourself and the team most importantly in the best way possible.

Q. What do you think of your former coach, Coach Saban, picking Texas and Georgia to play in the title game? Is that early rat poisoning for this group?

TYLER BOOKER: Not necessarily. You can't pay attention to things this early in the year, I don't deal in hypotheticals. He taught me that so he would be glad to hear me say that.

Q. What do you think the change to morning practices will do for the team? How do you think that's going to maybe help this year, getting ready for this year?

TYLER BOOKER: I think morning practices will definitely help because we're going to practice in the morning, go to class and then in the afternoon we will have time to recover, get ready for the next day, watch film, meet with our coaches. It's more time on the back end of the day because when we had afternoon practice you only had so much time before you had to go to study hall, eat, get ready for the next day. So I feel morning practices are going to be a great change for us.

Q. The 2023 Iron Bowl, that final drive at any moment did doubt creep in? Your most vivid memories of those last couple of plays?

TYLER BOOKER: Those last couple of plays I was just thinking about scenarios of how we would win. Doubt never creeped into my mind, and I think that's the way I'm wired. I feel like as long as there is time on that clock, we have a chance to win, doesn't matter what's going on.

If you let doubt creep in, you're not a real competitor, you're not a true competitor. You have to believe in yourself before anybody else believes in you. If guys see me with my head down, talking about we lost the game, what is that going to do to everybody else. That whole time I'm thinking about how we can win this game, how I can perform to the best of my abilities to help my team win.

Q. I feel like Jalen has the potential for a Heisman year. What do you see in him, his growth and what are your expectations for him this season?

TYLER BOOKER: I'm blessed to be able to play with Jalen. Jalen is a great quarterback, but even better leader. He is a person I leaned on during the transition as well. I just expect a great season out of Jalen. As for the offensive line, we're going to give him the time he needs, the holes he needs and whatever he needs in order to be great and do his job to the highest of his abilities.

Q. I'm wondering how the last play of the Rose Bowl is sitting with you and if it's fueling you to this point?

TYLER BOOKER: Definitely the whole Rose Bowl is fueling us to this year. We understand we fell short, and we're so close to our end goal we're going to let that drive us this year but we're not going to dwell on it too long, we're going to look forward to this upcoming season.

But the Rose Bowl is something we look forward to this season. Whenever you don't feel like working hard, just think, we didn't work hard enough in that game.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, very much. Good job.

TYLER BOOKER: Thank you. Have a good one. Roll tide.