ESPN Report: Alabama’s coaches Rival Tide lose superstars in the Transfer Portal….
Rival coaches to Tide: Welcome to the portal party, Big Al
Rival coaches feel Alabama’s pain as the Tide lose superstars in the Transfer Portal after Nick Saban’s retirement, and many hope it alerts leaders to the problems they believe are hampering college football.
Believe it or not, rival coaches are not celebrating or predicting Alabama’s demise after Nick Saban’s retirement.
They’re actually downright empathetic with the Tide’s recent plight as a wave of superstars bolt for the Transfer Portal. Makeshift rules, conference realignment, and the lack of forethought among NCAA leadership have bothered coaches behind the scenes for the last three years — and Alabama’s offseason exodus is just another symptom of the system’s sickness.
“This is just a more visible example of how stupid this is,” a head coach in the Big Ten told 247Sports.
247Sports polled nearly two dozen coaches and personnel administrators on life in college football after Saban. Many believe the Tide’s tribulation shines a much-needed light on a broken system and the always-changing rules governing the Transfer Portal, the 30-day window allowing players to leave in the offseason, and the enticements of name, image and likeness money.
“It is truly a new age of college football,” said a head coach who coached against Saban. “Nick saw it coming and it’s a big reason he got out when he did.”
Saban’s retirement sent shockwaves across the sport and the fallout is staggering. In six days, five schools lost head coaches. Twenty-three players from the Tide’s two-deep roster in the College Football Playoff departed before Kalen DeBoer had the time to decorate his new office in Tuscaloosa.
Since losing in the national championship game, Washington lost 30 players (and counting) from the two-deep, including all 11 starters on offense.
Nine Arizona players entered the portal in one night, just hours after losing coach Jedd Fisch to Washington.
The Transfer Portal giveth and taketh away, but never has free agency debilitated a playoff team. Now that a blueblood like Alabama faces an unfamiliar challenge, the tides have turned. The GOAT is gone and the barn door is wide open. It’s open season in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama is just another face in the crowd for the first time in the Transfer Portal era.
Welcome to the party, Big Al.
The portal closed Jan. 2, but not for programs that lose their head coach. Players at Alabama, Arizona, Buffalo, San Jose State, South Alabama and Washington are free to leave during a 30-day window. That leaves those programs at a disadvantage as they hemorrhage players without viable options to replace them.
The jabs, hooks, and uppercuts were relentless Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. Alabama didn’t just lose starters, it lost superstars. Five-star Caleb Downs, a freshman All-American safety, entered the portal with eyes trained on SEC rival Georgia. Five-star offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, who flipped from Iowa last year for the Tide, is expected to land back in his home state with the Hawkeyes.
On the recruiting trail, the Tide lost two top-5 pass rushers in the class of 2025 (Zion Grady and Javion Hilson).
Three of the four highest-ranked players in the 247Sports Transfer Portal hail from Alabama — Downs, Proctor and receiver Isaiah Bond. Grab them and the other 20 players departing Alabama’s depth chart, and a coach could build a top-15 team overnight.
And then on Friday morning, news broke that Alabama freshman five-star quarterback Julian Sayin plans to enter the transfer portal. The hits just keep coming. Sayin is the 26th Alabama player to enter the portal and the second early enrollee, joining four-star cornerback Jameer Grimsley.
“I’m surprised they did not keep more coaches on staff and I think it would’ve helped the process with some of those better players,” an FBS coordinator said. “Alabama will still end up being pretty good because they will still get some very good players, but they are definitely going to take a step back.”
Another Power Five assistant coach added: “Just goes to show that kids actually care about the people and not just NIL, even though we all know that the NIL stuff ran Saban out of college football.”
Don’t fault Alabama entirely. DeBoer attempted to keep co-defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson on staff, but he opted to leave for Georgia after briefly considering a counter-offer from the Tide. Now Robinson may take Downs, the No. 1 player in the portal.
Florida State and Texas have benefitted most from Alabama’s misery. The Seminoles have grabbed six Tide defectors, and more could be coming. Mike Norvell has complemented a top-10 high school class with the portal’s third-best haul, strengthing his track record as the nation’s best balancing act in the portal and on the recruiting trail.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns snagged receiver and Iron Bowl hero Isaiah Bond, the nation’s fourth-best player in the portal, tight end Amari Niblack and backup linebacker Kendrick Blackshire. Texas A&M also picked up four-star cornerback Dezz Ricks.
In a sign of the times, Alabama’s lone pickup so far is Washington quarterback Austin Mack, who announced Thursday he will follow DeBoer to Tuscaloosa.
“I hope these guys are aware of what they just walked into,” said a player personnel director at an SEC program. “Recruiting in this conference is cutthroat. It is not about scheme, it is about players.”
This isn’t the end of the world for Alabama. DeBoer and his staff can patch the roster when the portal re-opens for 15 days starting May 1. The Tide also have another weapon in their arsenal thanks to new NCAA guidance released in December: multi-time transfers are now immediately eligible at their new schools. That means the Tide can shop for practically any player it desires in April.
