Rece Davis labels Kadyn Proctor's potential Alabama return as 'really strange'

Kadyn Proctor has confused many with back and forth decisions between Alabama and Iowa. That includes Rece Davis who thinks his case is an example of where player movement in collegiate sports nowadays may have gone just a tad too far.

Davis spoke about Proctor’s latest decision to return to Tuscaloosa during the ‘College GameDay Podcast’ last week. He said it’s odd to him for Proctor to be going back and forth between the Crimson Tide and Hawkeyes. That then leads him to believe it’s an instance that shows how some of these players are making their respective recruiting decisions to hastily.

“It’s incredible, really,” said Davis. “I don’t begrudge Kadyn Proctor leaving Alabama to go to Iowa nor coming back. But, I mean, you know what it does, the one thing I thought when I saw this? It does give, at least anecdotal fodder to those who are saying that a lot of these decisions are not well-thought out and that they’re being made rashly.”

“Clearly, if you leave a place shortly after a playoff appearance? A place where he struggled quite a bit over the course of the season and struggled some in the playoff game? But, you know, the future is huge, no matter whether he plays for Alabama, Iowa, or whoever he plays for. They stuck with him and Iowa stuck with him, maybe to their somewhat embarrassment, sending him texts over the course of the season and maintaining the relationship so to speak,” Davis explained. “Then to go for the part of the spring and turn around and decide, ‘Nah, I made a mistake here. I’m going back’ is really, really strange.”

Proctor, a Des Moines, Iowa native, originally committed to the Hawkeyes on June 30th, 2022. He did so out of high school as a Five-Star+ prospect according to On3’s 2023 Industry Ranking. However, just less than six months later, he flipped to Alabama for the first time on December 20th, 2022.

Proctor started at left tackle as a true freshman for the Crimson Tide in every game this past season. That earned him a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Then, upon the retirement of Nick Saban, Proctor was one of the players who elected to hit the transfer portal. That led to the obvious connection back to Iowa. Within a few days of being available, he once again gave his commitment to the Hawkeyes on December 20th, 2023.

Now, just under three months later, Proctor hadn’t even gotten through the spring before reentering the portal and returning to Alabama on March 19th, 2024. For those counting, that’s four separate decisions regarding either the Tide or the Hawkeyes in just under two years with him having played just one collegiate season.

In the portal era, player movement is a nearly unrestricted practice. That’s why, in cases like Proctor’s, people like Davis don’t want to condemn their choices too harshly.

Still, considering all things regarding this one sample, something about the indecisiveness just doesn’t sit right with Davis.

“It’s really strange to me,” Davis said. “I don’t really have any feelings one way or the other. It just doesn’t feel quite right for some reason.”