Kalen DeBoer is proving Alabama will continue to recruit at an elite level, which should scare the hell out of the rest of college football

Remember when the narrative surrounding Kalen DeBoer was that Alabama’s head coach couldn’t recruit?

“He’s an Xs and Os savant but he’s never signed a 5-star prospect” was a common refrain, including from yours truly. 

Kalen DeBoer is 7-0 against Dan Lanning, Steve Sarkisian and Lincoln Riley … three coaches many Alabama fans would’ve signed up for first as Nick Saban’s successor.

DeBoer is an Xs and Os savant. Recruiting is a legit ???

But looks like Alabama nailed the hire.

— Jesse Simonton (@JesseReSimonton) January 12, 2024

But that was way back in January. 

And then the former Washington head coach did land his first 5-star signature in wideout Ryan Williams — his first Top-150 signee ever — and he managed to hold onto the foundation of Nick Saban’s final recruiting class with the Tide inking the No. 2 crop for the 2024 cycle. 

Those were mostly blue-chip prospects who committed to Nick Saban though, Jesse. 

Maybe they were, but these 2025 recruits aren’t committing to the GOAT anymore. They’re signing up to play for the guy who — despite all evidence otherwise just six months ago — is recruiting a lot like the former Godfather of recruiting who stacked Top 3 recruiting classes on top of one another. 

On the eve of the NCAA’s mandated recruiting dead period Monday, Alabama closed June with a flurry of fireworks and momentum. In the last month, the Tide flipped 4-star quarterback Keelon Russell (the MVP of the recent Elite 11 event) from SMU, landed commitments from 4-star tailback Anthony Rodgers and 4-star corner Chuck McDonald and received verbal pledges from a trio of blue-chip offensive linemen. 

On3’s illustrious recruiting gurus Chad Simmons and Steve Wilfong can offer much greater details on the why’s and who’s next, but the Tide currently have the nation’s No. 3 class in the 2025 cycle (nine Top-150 commits) and are trending heavily for a trio 5-star prospects in offensive tackle Ty Haywood (No. 9 nationally), receiver Caleb Cunningham (No. 15) and cornerback Dijon Lee (No. 30).

Fan bases across the SEC are doing their best Jim Carrey impersonation from Liar Liar, united by their ‘Oh, come on!’ feeling that this was not supposed to happen once Saban retired. 

In the post-Saban world, most expected Alabama to nosedive in the recruiting rankings, yet despite DeBoer’s inexperience wading in SEC waters, he’s proven he has the staff and NIL resources to keep the Tide atop the talent acquisition business. 

Why Alabama’s continued success on the recruiting trail under Kalen DeBoer is a bad sign for the rest of college football

Throughout his career, Kalen DeBoer has shown an innate ability to do more with less. 

He did it at Sioux Falls, winning three NAIA national titles. He did it at Indiana and Fresno State. 

Most recently, his crowing accomplishment is taking over a Washington program that went 4-8 and averaged just 21.8 points per game to a team that went 25-3 the next two seasons (10-1 vs. ranked teams) with a loss in the national title. 

But the elephant on DeBoer’s resume was his lack of recruiting chops. 

Could he? Would he? What would happen if Alabama suddenly couldn’t land 4- and 5-star talent with regularity?

I don’t think we’re going to find out. 

Alabama’s operation may be different than it was under Saban, but a bunch of the best players are still flocking to Tuscaloosa — and that should scare the hell out of the rest of the country. 

Backslide? 

What backslide?

AD Greg Byrne looks to have made the shrewd move of hiring an elite Xs and Os head coach and then giving DeBoer the necessary resources to continue to accumulate the best talent possible. With NIL now such a fixture in recruiting, a humble South Dakotan with no ties to the South can get hired at Alabama and not miss a beat. 

DeBoer hasn’t coached a game yet for the Tide, but few (if any) questioned his ability to get the job done on Saturdays.

It was always about what sort of roster he’d have when he showed up to the games, and if his first recruiting cycle is any indication, then the demise of Alabama’s program was nothing more than wish-casting by the rest of the sport and the program will only continue to compete for championships.