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Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer mentioned in passing Monday that the Tide will stay in Tuscaloosa on Friday night before traveling to Starkville on Saturday morning for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff against Mississippi State. On Wednesday evening during his weekly "Hey Coach" radio show, DeBoer explained why that is happening. "Some of it was, I just trusted what was done before here," DeBoer said. "2023 it was done the same way, [staying] here in Tuscaloosa." Alabama last played Mississippi State in Davis Wade Stadium in 2023, which was a night time kickoff. Its last 11 a.m. CT kickoff in Starkville came in 2019 -- the game in which Tua Tagovailoa injured his hip. Alabama opted this year for its typical home game team hotel in Tuscaloosa over a limited selection of hotels in the Starkville and Columbus, Mississippi area. "You want those accommodations and things like that when it comes to meeting rooms and such," he said. "We have that here with our hotel and all that. "When it comes to staying at a place that suits what we need, I don't know if those places kind of fulfill those expectations. Other teams have been staying here in Tuscaloosa recently as they come through heading up that way. Again, it's been done before. Just as recently as three years ago. It worked then. We got to make sure we continue to stay with that. I guess I just trusted a lot of what we've done in the past, and that's the best way to do it." The 85-mile trip from Tuscaloosa to Starkville takes about 90 minutes for most travelers but could take less with Alabama's police escort. "I've checked how long of a trip it is, too, but I'm always accounting it's a little bit quicker with the way we will roll with the buses and everything that goes along with us," DeBoer said. DeBoer said Wednesday evening that players typically check into the facility at 6:45 a.m. CT during the season, but many players show up earlier than that. Alabama begins practicing at 9 a.m. CT under DeBoer, a change from Nick Saban's afternoon practices. "We're used to getting up early and getting everything done," safety Bray Hubbard said Tuesday. "We're here during the week -- we usually get here 6 o'clock, in meetings by 7. We're used to waking up early and having to get our engines going for an early practice. We're usually practicing by 9 o'clock. Obviously, we'll stay here in Tuscaloosa. Quick little bus ride over there. Kind of similar to if we were playing at Auburn. We always drive over from Montgomery to Auburn. Very similar in that way."