Paul Finebaum explains how landing Ryan Williams was symbolic for Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

There was plenty of roster turnover at Alabama after Nick Saban retired and Kalen DeBoer took over. Some even started to panic over the number of Crimson Tide players leaving for the transfer portal.

However, a few weeks later, DeBoer appears to have stabilized the Alabama program. A big part of that was regaining a commitment from five-star class of 2024 receiver Ryan Williams.

The No. 5 overall player in the On3 Industry rankings, Williams decommitted from Alabama on Jan. 10, before committing to Alabama once again on Jan. 24.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday and discussed what landing Ryan Williams means for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide.

“I think things have corrected a little bit,” Finebaum said. “Getting Williams, it was significant but also symbolic. And I think sometimes the symbolism of a new coach matters most, as everybody remembers with the Julio Jones commitment. I distinctly remember that day. All of a sudden everybody said, ‘Yea, this guy [Nick Saban] is legitimate.’ Even though we knew he already was. But that’s just sometimes the way the public and players react.”

Finebaum admits that even he might have overreacted at first to what happened when DeBoer took over for Saban.

But he’s now once again a believer in the future of the Alabama program, as well as in DeBoer.

“I think it was more of an overreaction to Nick Saban leaving. I don’t think people really objectively looked at Kalen DeBoer,” Finebaum said. “I mean he’s, on his worst day, one of the top coaches in the SEC. And I think there was just this panic. And listen, we all reacted to it. We’re talking about Alabama as being one of the top one or two best programs in the country, the best in recruiting every year. And suddenly you’ve got somebody who comes in who’s a top-flight coach, and players are reacting or overreacting and so were the rest of us.”

Michael Penix predicts Kalen DeBoer will win national championship within three seasons at Alabama

Paul Finebaum is far from the only believer in the future of Kalen DeBoer and Alabama.

Michael Penix Jr. predicted Kalen DeBoer would win a national championship at Alabama soon. In fact, it’ll happen in the next three years, according to the NFL-bound quarterback.

Penix Jr. and DeBoer came together and flourished at Washington after the QB’s transfer from Indiana to reunite with his former coach. The two came up just shy of a title to Michigan this past season.

Now with Penix Jr. off to the NFL and DeBoer replacing Nick Saban, the quarterback is confident in his former coach getting it done.

“Man, he is an amazing coach, man,” Penix Jr. said on WNSP. “He’s gonna push the guys extremely hard. He’s gonna make sure every player is 100% prepared, you know, come game day and man and you know, especially on the offensive side of the ball, you know, man, they’re gonna light it up.

“The offense that he installs, it’s amazing, you know, it’s, it’s a lot of pushing the ball down the field but obviously being smart with it and the timing of the plays, it’s perfect.”

Michael Penix on transfer QB Austin Mack: ‘Definitely going to be a household name’

With former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer coming in to replace Nick Saban, the hope at Alabama is that he’s going to be able to bring his explosive offense with him. Now, his former quarterback at Washington, Michael Penix Jr., shared that he thinks DeBoer already has his quarterback of the future.

Austin Mack, a former Washington Husky, transferred to Alabama along with DeBoer. He’s a young player who Penix praised during an appearance on WNSP Now.

“He’s a young guy,” Michael Penix Jr. said. “He actually reclassified, came in early, he wanted to be able to spend a year in the offense. Seeing me and seeing how I operated in the offense and stuff like that. I did my best to just show him as much of the offense as I could and continue to encourage him to keep his confidence up.”

Austin Mack played high school football at Folsom (CA), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 219 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Mack didn’t see the field in 2023, taking a redshirt. Still, Michael Penix is confident that what he saw in practice will one day translate onto the field.

“His confidence is out of the roof, man. He’s going to be an amazing player at Alabama. That’s definitely going to be a household name there pretty soon, and he has so much talent at a young age that I saw as soon as he came in and just the way he was able to pick up the offense, and pick up on just seeing the defense, and reacting to the plays, it was amazing to see. So, I know his ceiling is very high.”

Alabama currently has Jalen Milroe returning for the 2024 season. So, including Austin Mack, the future of the quarterback position is bright in Tuscaloosa.