Paul Finebaum believes Nick Saban, Alabama could be looking to the portal for quarterback upgrade

Quarterback competitions tend to be one of the most highly talked about topics coming out of spring practice across the country, and college football analyst Paul Finebaum is particularly fascinated by the one underway in Tuscaloosa. Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson have been competing for Alabama‘s starting quarterback this spring, and ahead of the Crimson Tide’s spring game this Saturday, Finebaum spoke on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning about the possibility of head coach Nick Saban potentially dabbling in the transfer portal for a quarterback.

“I think it’s really about the quarterback play, it’s about the overall play, and I wonder guys a week from today what we’ll be talking about. Because I think the most intriguing spring game is really the one in Tuscaloosa,” Finebaum said. “And I defer to you for far more information than I have, but I’m not crazy about what I’m hearing from Nick Saban or anyone else about the quarterback play. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if back to the portal, which is how we started this conversation, if the busiest man in the portal right now isn’t Nick Saban looking for a quarterback.”

The new transfer portal window opened on April 15 and will close on April 30, giving coaches across the nation an opportunity to evaluate their rosters following spring practice and fill potential areas of need. However, if Saban and the Crimson Tide do feel like they need a quarterback from out of the portal, it may be too late according to Finebaum.

“But I think it more shows the situation of what Saban missed on in the last portal. I think that was the moment that he needed to take advantage of it, not now. I mean right now you’re basically just picking up, I mean you could get a bizarre entry, but more than likely you’re not going to,” Finebaum said.

On3’s 2023 College Football Transfer Portal Quarterback Rankings show that the nation’s top 22 quarterbacks in the transfer portal have already either committed or enrolled in another school, with the best available quarterback in the portal currently being former Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan.

Regardless of whether Simpson or Milroe secure the starting job with confidence or the Crimson Tide sign another quarterback out of the transfer portal, there’s no question that the quarterback position at Alabama will be meticulously watched heading into the season.

“And I think a week from today I’m really interested in what fans think, what experts think, and really whether we continue thinking this Alabama team is in the national championship race or, depending on the portal, do we recalibrate that,” Finebaum concluded.