Kalen DeBoer praises staff for re-recruiting Alabama football roster

Tomorrow will mark two weeks since Kalen DeBoer was officially hired as Alabama’s new head football coach. In that short time, DeBoer has landed commitments from three players who were on his roster at Washington last year and Five-Star Plus+ receiver Ryan Williams.

But Deboer praised his coaching staff for its ability to re-recruit the players from last season’s Crimson Tide team and convince them to stick around after Nick Saban retired.

“I think that’s probably some of the best recruiting our coaches have done so far is really recruiting our own roster,” said DeBoer in an interview on The Dan Patrick Show. “And it’s crazy to say that but I think that’s the case no matter what, but I think it’s even at another level now just with everything.” 

Since Saban announced his retirement, 10 Alabama players entered the NCAA transfer portal with all of them finding new homes on Power 5 rosters. But many of the remaining Tide players have stuck around, although the 30-day transfer portal window remains open. A lot of the guys have been vocal about their commitment to UA despite the coaching change.

Some of the most vocal have been leaders like Tyler Booker, Deontae Lawson, Jalen Milroe and Malachi Moore, who have tried to rally the troops around DeBoer. Milroe, who started 13 games at quarterback in 2023-24 and was voted a team captain, shared his impression.

“It’s two things: trust the process and believe, and that’s something we’re going to do right now,” said Milroe during the ESPN broadcast of Wednesday night’s Alabama-Auburn basketball game. “Right now, we’re in January, so everything is about being where your feet are.

“We’re not looking at the end goal, we’re not looking at the top of the mountain. We’re looking at where we’re at right now, and right now, it’s about the relationship aspect of this football team, whether it’s knowing our teammates and then knowing our coach.

“And that’s something that we have to have in the locker room is constantly try to grow our relationship and then constantly try to believe in everything that the coaching staff is giving us.”

Since he was hired, DeBoer has preached the importance of retaining Alabama’s roster that won 12 games, including an SEC championship, and reached the College Football Playoff this past season. While 28 players have transferred since December and 12 more entered the NFL draft, the Tide welcomes back some key pieces from last year’s team and has added 30 new players to the fold, whether via the high school ranks or the transfer portal.

The buy-in from the returning players, however, has been crucial for DeBoer’s first season.

“I’m really proud of the way our guys – when I say our guys, our team – have been receptive and embraced our coaching staff and myself,” DeBoer said. “I think we’ve done a great job of retaining the core, the nucleus of who’s in this program. There’s so many great players and they want this place to be great. 

“It certainly caught them by surprise, and it hits you pretty hard when Coach Saban retired and that’s a big piece of why they came here. But they also came here to wear those Alabama colors, and they’ve really, again, been receptive to myself and holding each another and wanting to carry on the legacy of this great place.”

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