Nick Saban evaluates how Ole Miss has used transfer portal to build roster

Few things have revolutionized college sports quite like the transfer portal has the past few years. In big-time college football, teams can immediately look for upgrades to their roster year to year, whereas before they had to wait on high schoolers and players from the JUCO ranks to help. On the Wednesday evening edition of SEC Media Days from Dallas, Nick Saban and the crew shared their thoughts on the transfer portal in college football.

First, Sam Acho shared his thoughts on the portal and how important team chemistry is in building a roster. “I think there’s a difference between adding depth or a piece here or there. And having a whole team essentially be a transfer portal team. I think the reason why is that if you look at college football, it’s not essentially the most talented players that win, but it’s the best teams,” Acho explained.

“Look at Michigan last year, they were the best team. I’m not talking about individual. I’m talking about the team that came together. Washington was a really good team. Guys came together. Texas another good team. Alabama. They came together as a team. And so, though I love the transfer portal and can get excited about it. I think it wouldn’t be as beneficial as you would think it is, when there’s so many different players trying to find. It’s hard to have culture when you have players coming from everywhere and there’s no culture or foundation built,” Acho finished.

Saban then answered a follow-up question by explaining things he would try to avoid in the transfer portal. Proper team fit and chemistry were always important to him in the evaluation process.

“We wanted to get guys that would fit in our culture. We wanted to make sure they were the right kind of guys. And we always talked to coaches about them to make sure they weren’t bad guys. They weren’t gonna be a problem on our team,” Saban explained.

Saban also explained his team wouldn’t accept certain players on the Alabama roster, if they weren’t doing the right things. “So, if there was a guy that was a little shaky, he didn’t fit in pretty good, because the peers wouldn’t accept him unless he did what he was supposed to do. That’s a benefit.” the former Alabama head coach noted.

Nick Saban is impressed with Ole Miss has done this offseason

He was impressed with the job the Ole Miss Rebels have done in the transfer portal, both with the players they have added and the players that have departed the program.

Superstar tailback Quinshon Judkins left the program this offseason, joining the Ohio State Buckeyes. But they also added major impact players like five-star+ defensive tackle, Walter Nolen. He was rated as the No. 1 overall player in America in the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. When the dust cleared this offseason, Kiffin and company had the nation’s No. 3 ranked transfer portal class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

“But, I think some of these places and I think Ole Miss has done a good job of that now. And I think they’re gonna be a team to be reckoned with. Because you talk about Michigan. Michigan had a lot of good players. It wasn’t just coming together. And Washington had a lot of good players. They came together. But, you have to have good players. Then, you’ve got to get them to come together. And that’s going to be Lane’s biggest challenge. Is get these guys to come together,” Saban explained on Wednesday night.

No matter how talented Kiffin’s roster might be, he’ll still need to make sure the chemistry and cohesion of his roster are at a high level.

The Ole Miss Rebels return one of the nation’s most explosive offensive attacks, spearheaded by Heisman Trophy candidate, Jaxson Dart. The Rebels will kick off their 2024 campaign against the Furman Paladins. That one is slated for Saturday, August 31st. Kick is set for 7:00 PM EST.