Kalen DeBoer not panicking over roster turnover for Crimson Tide

Roster turnover has become a new reality in the college sports landscape the past few seasons. Coaches have to deal with the transfer portal on a year-round basis. Dealing with the transfer portal is just a massive piece of the job.

Alabama’s new head coach Kalen DeBoer has not only had to deal with the expectations of succeeding a legend like Nick Saban, but a high number of players leaving the program.

On Friday evening, DeBoer jumped on The Paul Finebaum Show to discuss dealing with the departures.

“Yeah, sure. You know, I was just through this two years ago. And this is a much better situation than even that one was with the number of players leaving. You know, you just stay the course. And you roll up your sleeves just like I said earlier. There’s such a great group of leaders here in this program that want to uphold the standard of Alabama football. And they are sticking together. We want those guys that want to be here. They’re there working through all the noise that’s out there,” DeBoer said.

According to the 2024 On3 Transfer Portal Team Rankings, the Crimson Tide currently have 29 players transferring out of the program, one of the highest numbers in the country.

One player who hit the portal was the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 cycle, Julian Sayin. He was named the MVP at the Elite 11 competition. Not only that, but the Tide also lost one of the most talented freshmen in all of college football, safety Caleb Downs.

Despite the alarm and panic surrounding the departures, the current Alabama head football coach is simply focused on the players that want to be in Tuscaloosa.

“I’m just gonna be more proud of them sticking together, being intentional. On communicating with themselves. And trying to keep it tight. Keep it together. A lot of these guys. They came here to leave a legacy. To build on a legacy but to also leave a legacy. And you know, they look at it as their job’s not done. You know, there’s unfinished business with what they’ve accomplished. Whether it’s this year or the years past. And so, we’re really looking forward to locking arms as a team, as a staff, and continue to just work with the guys that are here. I really feel like we’re in a great spot. We’ve just got to stay the course,” DeBoer continued on Friday.

The quarterback he’s bringing in to replace Sayin is former Washington signal-caller, Austin Mack. Mack was originally a member of the 2024 class but reclassified and enrolled at Washington early. He played high school football at Folsom (CA) High School, where he was a four-star prospect.

He was the No. 219 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Brock Huard recently tabbed Mack, “Cam Newton light with a better delivery.”

Kalen DeBoer ‘not alarmed’ about the roster turnover

What was DeBoer’s message to fans of the program worried about the mass exodus of players leaving Tuscaloosa? “Yeah, I think it’s just the world we live in right now. I mean, when you have change and transition, there’s gonna be change with everything that’s around the program. A lot of these programs are going through changes without transition of head coaches,” the new head man for the Tide said.

“So, I just look at it and naturally, you expect that this is gonna happen to some extent. You know, we’ll get the right people in the program. Whether it’s staff, whether it’s players. And you know, this is a place that’s got the best facilities, the best resources in the entire country. And we are able to support the great players that come in here with all of that. I’ll tell the fans as well to be excited about the staff that we’re bringing in and what we’ll be capable of doing. I’m really not alarmed at all,” DeBoer said.