The music still seems new. As media filed into Alabama football’s practice at the start of the fourth period, Kalen DeBoer’s most obvious addition in Tuscaloosa rang out over the loudspeakers, starting with Endor’s remix of Danzel’s “Pump it Up.”

As players got into drills, the track changed to something more familiar in Tuscaloosa. AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” the same song Crimson Tide players take the field to at Bryant-Denny Stadium started playing.

Alabama wasn’t quite entering the stadium to play Western Kentucky yet. Still, the song hung over an anticipated moment: DeBoer’s first camp practice since taking over for Nick Saban.

“Run your ass to the ball,” Wommack shouted at the linebackers, already in peak form despite the early hour and the thick hoodie he was wearing. “If you’re gonna take a f—ing rep, take a f—ing rep.”

One field over, DeBoer seemed a bit more relaxed. Clad in a gray T-shirt with crimson shorts and a baseball cap bearing the script A, the new head coach mostly worked with the team’s quarterbacks.

Jalen Milroe was there, obviously the Crimson Tide’s starter behind center this season, no more cake analogies from Saban. Ryan Williams was in attendance too, making an eye-catching one-handed grab early on.

Coming off afterward, DeBoer, the red in his face a few shades brighter than the crimson on his hat, joked about the heat.

“Welcome to the south, right?” the North Dakota native joked. “For me in particular, practice is a little bit warmer.”

He wasn’t the only one feeling the heat though, 83 degrees and as humid as could be expected from a Tuscaloosa July as practice got going. According to DeBoer, the Tide had some cramping issues, some of which could be chalked up to players not being quite used to eating enough early for the morning sessions.

Around the field, the Crimson Tide’s water crew was working hard, delivering cold liquids wherever they were needed

“Can I get a hydrate on field one please? DBs,” rang out through the walkie-talkies used by the staffers.

“Yes ma’am,” came the response over the airwaves

DeBoer mostly stuck with UA’s offensive players, during the observable periods of practice, bouncing around the position groups but always returning to the QBs. No more Saban coaching defensive backs, clad in his instantly recognizable straw hat.

Just the man who replaced him, working to fulfill expectations nobody in college football has ever matched.

It’s also the Crimson Tide’s young defensive backs’ time to answer the questions about how much the departing talent of Terrion Arnold, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Caleb Downs and more will hurt the team. It’s Wommack, offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan and the rest of the new staff’s time to help with the transition.

But above all, it’s DeBoer’s time.

On Tuesday, golf carts will once again buzz around the three practice fields, staffers will once again climb up the video camera towers and the condo residents across the street will get just a little more used to the loud music.

Even in the morning and without Nick Saban present, Alabama football marches on.

“I thought it was a great practice,” DeBoer said. “Any time and every day, there’s things to learn from. You learn from the good, you learn from the bad. You learn from others’ mistakes and your own. A lot of that happened today, the good and the bad, the mistakes, and we get to go watch film, we get to talk about it here in a team meeting and we’ve gotta work. But it was a positive day.”