Nick Saban: Some Alabama players 'didn't have a choice' to enter transfer portal

Nick Saban has no hard feelings against Alabama players that entered the transfer portal this offseason. The Crimson Tide coach realizes that the goal of most athletes is to get on the field, and sometimes the best place to do that is elsewhere.

Saban joined the Paul Finebaum Show this past week, where he revealed how he evaluates portal performance. To him, it’s important to weigh the talent lost against the players brought in.

“I think we only had a couple players get in the portal,” Saban said. “Some didn’t have a choice. Others did. I think when you look at the portal, you have to almost look at the sum total of what left versus what came in. That’s really the only way you can evaluate it. We’re gonna have players at the back end of our roster that want to go some place to play and I’m OK with that, especially if they’ve graduated. Then we’re gonna have players at other programs who want to try to create value for themselves by playing in a situation where they feel like they can do that just like Jameson Williams did last year.”

Alabama saw 15 players enter the transfer portal this past season, with most of them being rather minor losses. Just three former Crimson Tide players — tight end Jahleel Billingsley, receiver Agiye Hall and linebacker Drew Sanders — ranked in the top 50 according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. Compare that to the players they signed, and the Crimson Tide look like one of the winners of this offseason.

Alabama added three of the top 10 transfer players, including running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who ranks second overall. He joins receiver Jermaine Burton and cornerback Eli Ricks as the three best transfers to join the Crimson Tide. Gibbs impressed at Alabama’s A-Day game this spring, finishing with 100 yards and a touchdown to earn the MVP.

The biggest transfer win for Alabama this past season — as Saban alluded to — was receiver Jameson Williams. Coming to Tuscaloosa after two season at Ohio State, he finished as the leading receiver with 1,572 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns. Based on this offseason, it seems Gibbs could be the next player to take his game to the next level with the Crimson Tide.

That isn’t to say that Alabama won’t miss some of its players who transferred out, but overall it appears to have once again put together a successful class. And the players that moved on certainly have Saban’s best wishes.