Alabama

Breaking Down Alabama Football’s Transfer Portal Moves

Published

2 years ago

May 17, 2024

Breaking Down Alabama Football’s Transfer Portal Moves

Losing players to the transfer portal is the norm in today’s age of college athletics, but coaching changes can cause those losses to his drastic numbers as players look for new beginnings.

For Alabama, legendary head coach Nick Saban’s retirement opened the portal floodgates as player after player chose not to stick around into new head coach Kalen DeBoer’s tenure. Between the winter and spring portal windows, Alabama had 39 total scholarship and walk-on players transfer out of the program. But despite those losses, DeBoer and is newly-hired staff brought in 14 transfers to supplement the 2nd-ranked recruiting class in the country as a new crop of talent comes into Tuscaloosa.

To sum up all of the movement, below is a position-by-position breakdown going over what Alabama lost and gained via the transfer portal at each position ahead of the 2024 football season.

In – Austin Mack (Washington)

Out – Julian Sayin, Eli Holstein, Tyler Buchner

The movement in the quarterback room was to be expected. Holstein and Buchner were both backups, and with Ty Simpson deciding not to enter the portal himself, there wasn’t much room for them on the depth chart.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the loss of 5-star early enrollee Julian Sayin, who was viewed to be the future at signal-caller in Tuscaloosa. To replace him, DeBoer brought Austin Mack with him from Washington, a 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman who has the build of an NFL quarterback. He likely won’t see the field in 2024, but he could be DeBoer’s quarterback of the future.

In – None

Out – Roydell Williams, Darien Clayborne

The only major loss from the running back room was Roydell Williams, who saw nearly equal snaps with starter Jase McClellan last season. His exit, however, means the keys to the backfield will be handed over to the young duo of Jam Miller and Justice Haynes, two former high school standouts who have the potential to be one of the best backfield duos in all of college football.

In – Germie Bernard (Washington)

Out – Isaiah Bond, Malik Benson, Ja’Corey Brooks, Shazz Preston, Thaiu Jones-Bell, Sawyer Deerman, Hayden Neighbors, Andre Craig

The pass-catching room took a few hits, most notably starters Isaiah Bond and Malik Benson moving on to different schools. Bernard is expected to be an immediate contributor, already knowing DeBoer’s offense from his two years at Washington. Alabama still has a deep room of talented wide receivers, the question will be who separates from the pack and garners the majority of the snaps.

In – Josh Cuevas (Washington)

Out – Amari Niblack, Miles Kitselman

The loss of Amari Niblack as a pass-catching tight end is unfortunate for DeBoer’s offense, especially considering his sky-high potential, but as mentinoed in the wide receivers section there isn’t a lack of talent on the perimeter of this team.

Cuevas, another transfer from Washington, caught four passes for a touchdown last season for the Huskies and will provide meaningful depth behind returning starter CJ Dippre.

In – Kadyn Proctor (Iowa), Parker Brailsford (Washington), Geno VanDeMark (Michigan State), Naquil Bertrand (Texas A&M)

Out – Kadyn Proctor, Seth McLaughlin, TJ Ferguson, James Brockermeyer

Yes, you’re reading that first name right on both lines. Kadyn Proctor transferred to Iowa during the winter transfer portal window, and after spending the spring in the midwest, decided to transfer back to the Crimson Tide. He will likely retain his starting left tackle spot, being the third returning starter along the offensive line.

Brailsford was the center at Washington last year, an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award. He’s expected to take the starting center spot with the departures of McLaughlin, Ferguson and Brockermeyer, whom all have played center at some point.

Geno VanDeMark and Naquil Bertrand will both likely be depth pieces along the line this season, but will have the chance to start in the future as each have at least two years of eligibility left.

In – LT Overton (Texas A&M)

Out – Isaiah Hastings, Khurtiss Perry, Monkell Goodwine, Anquin Barnes

The defensive line returns a ton of talent to bolster the front seven, as the only losses are players who had yet to play meaningful snaps in their Crimson Tide career. The addition of LT Overton is a welcomed one, being a former 5-star recruit and still on the young side, with two years left of eligibility.

In – None

Out – Shawn Murphy, Kendrick Blackshire, Ian Jackson

No additions at the linebacker spot, again only a few departures from players who had yet to find their way onto the field through multiple seasons in Tuscaloosa. The depth is somewhat of a question mark, but Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell are poised to be one of the best linebacker duos in the SEC, and maybe the country.

In – Domani Jackson (USC), King Mack (Penn State), Keon Sabb (Michigan), Kameron Howard (Charlotte), DaShawn Jones (Wake Forest)

Out – Caleb Downs, Antonio Kite, Dezz Ricks, Trey Amos, Jameer Grimsley, Earl Little II, Kristian Story, Jake Pope, Peyton Woodyard, Tony Mitchell

The secondary is where the largest amount of movement took place. Ten different defensive backs transferred out, including surefire starters Caleb Downs and Trey Amos as well as other players that had a chance to compete for starting spots.

In the portal, Alabama brought in former 5-star Domani Jackson from USC, who is likely to man one of the starting corner spots. The other has a good chance of going to Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones. Outside of returning captain Malachi Moore, seemingly every other position on the back end is up for grabs.

Michigan transfer safety Keon Sabb is expected to make an immediate impact, while the additions of Penn State safety King Mack and Charlotte safety Kameron Howard provide excellent depth.

The loss of Downs may be the biggest loss of the entire offseason, as he’s set to be one of the best players in all of college football, but DeBoer and his staff did aa good of a job as they could filling holes in the secondary to provide a deep pool of talent to build from.

In – Graham Nicholson (Miami OH)

Out – Uptan Bellenfant, Reed Harradine, Brock O’Quinn

No significant losses to the portal on the special teams side, but one major addition. After losing kicker Will Reichard, college football’s all-time leading scorer, to the NFL Draft, Alabama brought in Miami (OH) kicker Graham Nicholson. Nicholson won the Lou Groza Award for the best kicker in college football last season, so there shouldn’t be much of a dropoff in the kicking game for the Crimson Tide this season.

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Alabama

Tuberville officially files for 2026 Alabama governor’s race

Published

7 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Tuberville officially files for 2026 Alabama governor’s race

HOOVER, Ala. (WSFA) – Senator Tommy Tuberville officially filed the paperwork to run for governor at the Alabama Republican Party Headquarters in Hoover Monday morning.

“I want to make the lives of the people of this state better,” said Sen. Tuberville. “If I thought that staying in the U.S. Senate would be best for Alabama, I would’ve stayed. but I think the best thing for Alabama is for me to come back.”

He talked about the need to grow Alabama’s economy, with attracting manufacturers being a primary focus. Sen. Tuberville said that to do that, he would focus on improving the state’s infrastructure and making the state’s education and workforce systems more attractive to new residents.

When asked about cutting waste, fraud and abuse, a focus of his time in Washington, D.C., alongside President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, Sen. Tuberville said, he expects to make changes if elected governor.

“You have a lot of different agencies here, we want to make them all better,” he said. “We also want to make sure that we save the taxpayers’ money, that we use it wisely and we give it back to them.”

The former Auburn football coach said he did not expect to go into politics, but now, he is ready to transition from national to state politics.

“It’s time to come home, put together a staff and worry about the state of Alabama and the people here,” he said.

According to Alabama’s constitution, someone running for governor has to have lived in the state for at least seven years. Some have questioned whether Sen. Tuberville fits that requirement. He said during the candidacy filing that the Republican Party of Alabama says he does fulfill the requirement.

The filing deadline for candidates to qualify for a major political party is Jan. 23.

Alabama’s Democratic primary has the following candidates:

Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones
Dr. Will Boyd – businessman and engineer
JaMel Brown – pastor and talk show host
Chad ‘Chig’ Martin – businessowner

Alabama’s Republican Primary has the following candidates:

Sen. Tommy Tuberville
Ken McFeeters – former congressional candidate

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Alabama

Who has Alabama football lost in the transfer portal so far?

Published

19 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Who has Alabama football lost in the transfer portal so far?

Alabama football has already seen some of its roster clear out via the transfer portal in the days following its loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide will likely see more attrition in the coming days, with players allowed to enter through Jan. 16.

As of Monday morning, 15 Alabama players had entered the portal. Here’s a look at what the Crimson Tide is losing via transfer.

Cam Calhoun

The Utah transfer was a backup cornerback for the Crimson Tide this season. He played a major role on special teams but had trouble cracking the lineup on defense for Alabama.

Calhoun began his college career at Michigan

Rico Scott

Scott was perhaps the fastest receiver on the team, but there were too many players on the depth chart ahead of him. Scott finished the year with 11 catches for 55 yards.

Keon Keeley

When he arrived in Tuscaloosa, Keeley was one of the nation’s top recruits, at the edge position. After a year with the Tide, he moved over to the more traditional defensive end spot that Kane Wommack calls the “bandit.”

Keeley finally was able to make an impact on the field this year after two season on the bench. He likely could have played an increased role with LT Overton off to the NFL, but opted to portal instead.

Wilkin Formby

Formby moved around in Alabama’s lineup during the 2025 season, his first as a full-time starter. He began the year at tackle, but wound up playing right guard as Michael Carroll took over the outside spot.

Cole Adams

Adams was the Crimson Tide’s primary punt returner. However, he didn’t have much of a role at wide receiver.

The Oklahoma native had five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown this season.

Micah DeBose

DeBose joined Alabama as a highly touted recruit before the 2025 season. He saw action in just one game for the Crimson Tide this year, against Eastern Illinois.

Peter Notaro

The Alabama kicking game was an issue at times during the 2025 season. Notaro battled with Conor Talty for the starting job in preseason camp, but Talty eventually earned the spot.

Notaro was a five-star kicker in the 2025 recruiting class according to Kohl’s.

Noah Carter

Carter was a four-star edge recruit for the Crimson Tide ahead of the 2024 season. He redshirted that season, but got more action in 2025.

He finished the year with nine total tackles before deciding to find greener pastures.

Olaus Alinen

Alinen was not a major part of what was an extremely large offensive line rotation this season. The member of Alabama’s 2023 recruiting class earned the most praise from coaches due to his versatility, with the native of Finland able to play both guard and tackle.

Jalen Hale

Hale was a contributor at receiver in 2023, before a major leg injury cost him the 2024 campaign. He returned in 2025, but wasn’t able to get significant playing time at receiver given the amount of talent ahead of him.

Joseph Ionata

Ionata was listed as Alabama’s backup center during the 2025 season. However, when it came down to it, Geno VanDeMark slid to the spot if Parker Brailsford needed to leave the field.

The redshirt freshman did see some playing time on special teams.

Jaylen Mbakwe

Mbakwe joined Alabama as a five-star prospect in the 2024 class and proceeded to have an interesting career in Tuscaloosa. He spent most of 2024 as a defensive back, before deciding to enter the transfer portal, then backing out and switching to wide receiver before the ReliaQuest Bowl.

He stuck at wideout for 2025, without seeing major playing time at that position.

Richard Young

Some turnover among Alabama’s running backs came as no surprise. Young was thought of as a potential starter at running back, but got lost in a struggling rotation.

He finished 2025 with 23 carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns.

Roq Montgomery

Montgomery did not see the field during the 2025 season. He had been a special teams contributor in 2024, and saw some snaps on the offensive line as well.

Kam Howard

Howard spent two seasons as a cornerback in Tuscaloosa after transferring in from Charlotte. He didn’t play much in 2025, finishing the year with two tackles.

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Alabama

A major overhaul ahead for the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive line

Published

1 day ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

A major overhaul ahead for the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive line

The first phase of good news for the Alabama Crimson Tide is happening. While indications are the two best Alabama offensive linemen will move to the NFL, there are eight other (and counting) offensive linemen who not return for the 2026 season. Three are out of eligibility: Jaeden Roberts, Kam Dewberry, and Geno Van DeMark. Five more are portal entries: Micah DeBose, Joe Ionata, Olaus Alinen, Roq Montgomery, and Wilkin Formby.

Why is the attrition good news? There are two reasons. Kalen DeBoer’s offensive lines have needed skill sets in short supply the last two seasons. His offense needs agile, quick-footed offensive linemen. Not many Alabama football fans will disagree, but for those who do, when two late-season games (Georgia and Indiana) are lost by a combined 56 points, a major overhaul is required.

For an offensive line overhaul, the Crimson Tide needed to free up roster slots, to improve talent, and reallocate money. The count of returning offensive linemen (as of late afternoon on Jan. 4) is six: Mike Carroll, Casey Poe, Jackson Lloyd, Mal Waldrep, Red Sanders, and Arkel Anugwon. In addition, the 2026 class added five more: Tyrell Miller (JUCO), Jared Doughty, Chris Booker, Bear Fretwell, and Bryson Cooley

Next for the Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama could get lucky and have Parker Brailsford decide to play another season of college ball. Assuming that luck will not occur, three or four offensive linemen need to be added through the Portal. At least two of them need to be tabbed as near-locks to start in next fall’s season opener.

So far, the only target known publicly is Texas State center, Brock Riker. New targets are expected to surface soon, some of whom may not be in the portal yet. According to Yahoo Sports, Riker has been targeted by at least nine Power Four programs, with more offers expected soon.

The large number of transfer exits may be an indication that offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic will also move on. Many Alabama football fans are looking forward to DeBoer bringing in a new OL coach.

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