Paul Finebaum explains how landing Ryan Williams was symbolic for Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

There was plenty of roster turnover at Alabama after Nick Saban retired and Kalen DeBoer took over. Some even started to panic over the number of Crimson Tide players leaving for the transfer portal.

However, a few weeks later, DeBoer appears to have stabilized the Alabama program. A big part of that was regaining a commitment from five-star class of 2024 receiver Ryan Williams.

The No. 5 overall player in the On3 Industry rankings, Williams decommitted from Alabama on Jan. 10, before committing to Alabama once again on Jan. 24.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday and discussed what landing Ryan Williams means for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide.

“I think things have corrected a little bit,” Finebaum said. “Getting Williams, it was significant but also symbolic. And I think sometimes the symbolism of a new coach matters most, as everybody remembers with the Julio Jones commitment. I distinctly remember that day. All of a sudden everybody said, ‘Yea, this guy [Nick Saban] is legitimate.’ Even though we knew he already was. But that’s just sometimes the way the public and players react.”

Finebaum admits that even he might have overreacted at first to what happened when DeBoer took over for Saban.

But he’s now once again a believer in the future of the Alabama program, as well as in DeBoer.

“I think it was more of an overreaction to Nick Saban leaving. I don’t think people really objectively looked at Kalen DeBoer,” Finebaum said. “I mean he’s, on his worst day, one of the top coaches in the SEC. And I think there was just this panic. And listen, we all reacted to it. We’re talking about Alabama as being one of the top one or two best programs in the country, the best in recruiting every year. And suddenly you’ve got somebody who comes in who’s a top-flight coach, and players are reacting or overreacting and so were the rest of us.”

Michael Penix predicts Kalen DeBoer will win national championship within three seasons at Alabama

Paul Finebaum is far from the only believer in the future of Kalen DeBoer and Alabama.

Michael Penix Jr. predicted Kalen DeBoer would win a national championship at Alabama soon. In fact, it’ll happen in the next three years, according to the NFL-bound quarterback.

Penix Jr. and DeBoer came together and flourished at Washington after the QB’s transfer from Indiana to reunite with his former coach. The two came up just shy of a title to Michigan this past season.

Now with Penix Jr. off to the NFL and DeBoer replacing Nick Saban, the quarterback is confident in his former coach getting it done.

“Man, he is an amazing coach, man,” Penix Jr. said on WNSP. “He’s gonna push the guys extremely hard. He’s gonna make sure every player is 100% prepared, you know, come game day and man and you know, especially on the offensive side of the ball, you know, man, they’re gonna light it up. 

“The offense that he installs, it’s amazing, you know, it’s, it’s a lot of pushing the ball down the field but obviously being smart with it and the timing of the plays, it’s perfect.”