Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football had taken hit after hit to open the winter Transfer Portal window, but they punched back on Tuesday with a couple of big portal moments.
There was also going to be more subtraction than addition in the portal or Alabama. The Crimson Tide had a full roster following its signing class, and needed to purge a few roster spots to get under the scholarship limit.
So while seeing 15 Alabama players enter the portal could feel like a shock, the majority of the entries to date have mostly been depth pieces and not guys who were likely to be serious contributors to next season’s team.
RB Justice Haynes was a co-starter with Jam Miller, but there’s plenty of depth behind him with Miller expected back as well as Richard Young, Daniel Hill, and Kevin Riley. The Tide also signed the No. 2 RB in the 2025 class, AK Dear.
DeVonta Smith was a starter for most of the season, so his decision to transfer to Notre Dame came as a bit of a shock, but the Tide has a lot of young talent in the secondary already on campus and others on their way.
The first truly shocking development happened yesterday with Jaylen Mbakwe entering the portal, enticed by seven-figure offers elsewhere. But the roster rallied around the in-state, former 5-star, and Mbakwe announced his decision to stay in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday.
Mbakwe became the second player DeBoer and the coaching staff successfully coaxed out of the portal, joining tight end Danny Lewis Jr., who figures to have a substantial role on next season’s team with CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts exhausting their eligibility.
Sometimes the best moves you can make with your roster is re-recruiting your own guys. Mbakwe and Lewis are both prime examples of that.
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