Kalen DeBoer feels good about direction of Alabama roster after spring portal closes

The spring transfer portal window closed on Tuesday, and Alabama saw four of its players leave following spring practice. On the flip side, the Crimson Tide landed three commitments but is looking to add more, especially at defensive back, from the current portal pool.

Alabama will welcome three defensive targets to campus this weekend, per BamaOnLine senior recruiting editor Andrew Bone, in an effort to add depth to the roster. Speaking before the Team Focus fundraiser in Mobile, Alabama on Thursday, head coach Kalen DeBoer discussed where things stand from a transfer standpoint entering the first weekend in May.

“The portal closes, so no one really can enter, but there’s guys that we’re working through that we have visits or will have visits, trying to get them set to come to campus,” DeBoer said, according to AL.com. “I think in the end, I feel good about the direction we’re going with making the roster better, improving the roster, and that’s what it’s about.

“We don’t have a lot of spots that we can fill from a scholarship standpoint, but every one of them is important for this fall. I think our roster will be improved when we are done – when you take the additions and the subtractions and see where we’re at when it comes this fall.”

The Crimson Tide landed a significant commitment from a player familiar with Tuscaloosa, as offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor officially re-entered the transfer portal and will rejoin Alabama after a brief stint at Iowa. Proctor started all 14 of the Tide’s games last season at left tackle and fills a need at a position that only had four scholarship players in the spring.

Alabama also welcomed kicker Graham Nicholson and defensive back Kameron Howard from non-Power 5 programs and is still looking to bolster the defensive backfield with talent.

In addition to the players the Tide brings in via the spring transfer window, there will be several freshmen to enroll at UA this summer to round out the 2024 class. One of those is 5-star wide receiver Ryan Williams, who is the highest-rated player in Alabama’s signing class despite his reclassification from 2025. Williams is the nation’s No. 5 overall recruit.

Being that he was in Mobile for Thursday night’s event, DeBoer was asked about Williams and what he will need to do to get onto the field for Alabama as a freshman this season.

“We’ll play the best guys, guys that can get out there and help us,” DeBoer said. “It doesn’t matter what age they are. Ryan has certainly got a very special skill set. Explosiveness, along with just consistent production.

“I think from him, what’s been just so impressive – it goes back to the week that we met with him and he came on campus. There was so much thrown at him – new head coach, new coordinator, new position coach – and when I hear him talk about what it is within our program that he really enjoyed and is excited about, he retained so much of that information. 

“Which leads you to believe that, man, these were important decisions, this was an important decision for him that he was being really thorough, being really thoughtful. I just can’t wait to get him there with our guys because that attention to detail is something that you just can’t take for granted.”

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