Goodman: Will receiver Isaiah Bond regret leaving Alabama for Texas?

This is an opinion column.

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If anyone was still in denial about the new world of college football, then Isaiah Bond’s transfer from Alabama to Texas ended any and all doubt that the sport would ever be the same again.

Bond was the hero of the 2023 Iron Bowl. His game-winning touchdown reception on fourth and 31 made him an instant legend of Crimson Tide football. He led Alabama in receiving yards in the SEC championship game. After another year in Tuscaloosa, everything was in place for him to carry on the long tradition of Alabama receivers taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Then the unthinkable happened. Bond transferred out of Alabama shortly after Nick Saban announced his retirement from college football.

I’m not going to call Bond a turncoat villain, but it’s fair to say that his decision to double-cross Alabama left the Crimson Tide shaken and the rest of the SEC stirred.

Of all the moves we’ve seen throughout the sport of college football since January, Bond’s decision to leave hero status at Alabama for more NIL money at Texas represents the most jaw-dropping plot twist of the offseason. For me, it was even more shocking than Saban’s retirement.

Saban is 72 years old and there were plenty of signs throughout the 2023 season that his career was winding down. My Saban retirement column was ready to publish weeks before the news happened. Bond’s stunning flip caught me completely off guard.

Did a request by Bond for more NIL money from Alabama inform Saban’s decision to call it a career? Since walking away, Saban has acknowledged that the changing motivations of modern-day college football players coaxed him into retirement. When Bond arrived in Austin, Texas, after his transfer, one of the first places he visited was a local Lamborghini dealership.

Can Alabama compete with the NIL collectives out in Texas? Put it this way. The closest Lambo showrooms to Tuscaloosa are in Atlanta and Nashville. There aren’t any in Alabama.

Fans might not like the changes happening in college football, but the real truth can’t be denied. While the sport is evolving by the week, college football has never been more intriguing or popular. Over the next couple months, I’m going to write a series of columns focusing on 10 burning questions throughout the SEC and college football.

Question No.1: Will Isaiah Bond regret leaving Alabama?

NIL was the major factor in Bond’s move west, but Bond also wanted to play for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian recruited Bond while the receiver was in high school. They had an established relationship before Bond entered the transfer portal. When Saban retired, Bond was the first Alabama player to bolt. It opened the floodgates.

If head-to-head coaching records are an indication, then Bond maybe should have waited to see who Alabama was going to hire as Saban’s successor.

Both Alabama and Texas made the College Football Playoff last season. Both teams went out in the semifinals. Alabama lost to Mighian in overtime of the Rose Bowl and Texas couldn’t keep pace with Washington in the Sugar Bowl.

Alabama then hired Washington coach Kalen DeBoer to replace Saban. It was a bold move not without the potential to fail, but DeBoer’s record against some of the best coaches in college football can’t be denied. Against Sarkisian of Texas, DeBoer is 2-0 over the last two years.

Based on recent history, Bond chose incorrectly and should have waited to hear DeBeor’s pitch.

There are other measures of DeBoer’s success with receivers as well. Look at the 2024 NFL Draft. DeBoer has the edge on Sarkisian there, too.

Texas had an excellent draft class. The Longhorns set a program record with 11 selections and three of those were receivers. Xavier Worthy went No.28 in the first round, Adonai Mitchell was drafted 52nd overall in the second round and then Jordan Whittington was drafted in the sixth round.

Now compare those draft picks to the pass catchers Alabama’s new coach just put in the draft. DeBoer’s trio of former Washington receivers went before the Texas threesome. Rome Odunze was ninth overall to Chicago. Ja’Lynn Polk, a transfer from Texas Tech, was drafted 37th overall in the second round. Jalen McMillan, a crisp route runner, went to Tampa Bay in the third round (92nd overall).

DeBoer scored a major victory for Alabama when he convinced receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard to leave Washington for the Crimson Tide. It was the most important hire for DeBoer’s new staff. Former Washington receiver Germie Bernard followed Shephard to Tuscaloosa and, based on the spring game, will fill the role previously manned by Bond.

Bernard is poised to be Alabama’s new breakout star and Bond is the biggest X-factor in the SEC entering the 2024 season. A spot in the SEC championship game could come down to which player fits in better with their new team.

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”