Breaking down Alabama transfer portal additions, subtractions

It’s been a rough past week of transfer portal news for Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost several big names including safety Caleb Downs, offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor and quarterback Julian Sayin.

The retirement of Nick Saban was the catalyst for most of the recent departures, and new coach Kalen DeBoer has been working to stop the bleeding. The loss of multiple key players was one of the Crimson Tide’s biggest fears, but Tim Watts of BamaOnline believes it didn’t end up quite as bad as it could have.

“I think Kadyn Proctor and Caleb Downs hitting the portal was kind of the point where they said, ‘all right, it is what it is,'” Watts told On3‘s Andy Staples on Tuesday. “Their worst nightmares were kind of coming to realization. They thought Caleb Downs was going to Georgia. Alabama had their defensive backs coach, (Travaris Robinson), go there so there was a lot of conspiracies connecting them.

“Kadyn Proctor, who we had said many times was homesick even during the season, they thought he was gonna be an NIL guy. We heard a lot of Ohio State talk. So I think when those kids made their decision and Caleb went to Ohio State and Proctor went back home to Iowa, I think it alleviated a little bit. It’s not good you lose those players, but it’s also not the conspiracy you’re seeing.”

Downs and Proctor both started for Alabama as true freshmen and figured to be big pieces for the future of the program. The former even earned SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year honors after leading the Crimson Tide with 107 tackles.

Sayin was also expected to eventually become a starting quarterback for Alabama once Jalen Milroe moves on. He ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

However, when Alabama added quarterback Austin Mack through the portal, Sayin left immediately. Now the Crimson Tide must rely on Mack, the No. 16 QB in the 2023 cycle, to fill the role that once belonged to Sayin.

“Alabama fans have really been on a rollercoaster,” Watts said. “You get Austin Mack and they don’t really know who he is. We took a lot of time digging to really figure out who he is and he’s a very promising prospect by all accounts. …Austin Mack, he’s 17 years old right now. He’s gonna be 18 in June. But that was a domino. They got him and they like him and if you just watch him and learn about him, you see him on the recruiting visit this weekend. They had six official visitors and he was one of them even though he was already committed. He’s a foot taller everybody. We’re talking about some nice-sized kids. Jalen Milroe is 6-2. Ty Simpson is 6-1 or in that range. This guy looks humongous. He is a good four, five inches taller and he’s big. So they got that commitment.

“Once you got them settled down and they knew what they were getting. Their worst feat when you took it, though, was exactly Julian Sayin leaving. So I think Friday morning when he left, that kind of kicked it off. Then you have to walk and talk yourself through it. Big visitor weekend. He’s starting to answer. At one point there was a lot more questions than answers, so we’re starting to see I think that’s been a big part of calming Alabama fans’ nerves.”

The transfer portal wasn’t all bad for Alabama, though. The Crimson Tide also made some big additions of its own such as offensive lineman Parker Brailsford and cornerback Domani Jackson. They’re also still in the running for Washington cornerback Jabbar Muhammad.

Alabama currently ranks 70th in On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings, so it’s clear they still have some work to do. But thanks to recruiting classes that have routinely ranked among the top five in the country, their roster still has plenty of talent.

“I think a lot of people were excited to see Alabama lose everybody and lose all their talent, and that hasn’t been the case,” Watts said. “I think nine guys have hit the portal since Nick Saban retired. Everybody else was kind of expected here in the first go-round. To be honest, Alabama had to lose guys in the first portal window because they had to clear room for guys that wanted to play elsewhere so they could be on the number 85 and get down to that scholarship number. So they have a really good team if you look at it.

“I think it’s a debatable point, but how many teams would not swap their roster for Alabama’s where it is right now? There’s certainly guys like Texas, Ohio State did a good job, Georgia. Those guys have got really good staffs. …Others might argue, but I think you could argue right back Alabama’s roster is better than them. That’s not even counting if you could get a Ryan Williams or a Jabbar Muhammad. That makes the roster much better right out of the gate and then you’ve got that spring portal period. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that once again, Alabama has a top five roster when you come out of April.”