With the Transfer Portal closing for most players after Dec. 28, the latest transfer cycle has been relatively smooth for Alabama Football. There is no ‘business as usual’ in college football roster building, but compared to last season’s transfer cycle, the Crimson Tide transfer disruptions have been minimal.
One reason for the minimal transfer drama in Tuscaloosa is that Kalen DeBoer and his staff are not seeking a large number of upgrades. Many coaches must counter a large number of exiting players and position group deficiencies with a large number of transfer additions. Lane Kiffin has a PhD in roster building through transfers. Though Kiffin has done it successfully, the Rebels still failed to make the expanded Playoff field.
The Alabama Football approach led by Kalen DeBoer and Courtney Morgan is more surgical. The Crimson Tide is focused on key needs at certain positions. Sometimes, a transfer is added to provide depth, but Alabama is mostly interested in players who can become starters. Another factor for the Crimson Tide is player development has not been deemphasized and patient backups can prove to be better than Portal options. One example is the Crimson Tide’s need at offensive tackle. So far in the current Portal cycle, no addition at tackle would have been a clear upgrade to Elijah Pritchett and Wilkin Formby.
Alabama Football is not as one reporter recently contended, a ‘poverty program’. The Crimson Tide has significant financial resources, but Alabama does not seek landing transfers by outbidding other programs. Locker rooms can be adversely impacted when highest-dollar bids are thrown at a few players. To date, there has been no indication Alabama has experienced that problem. The same cannot be said for other SEC programs.
Current Alabama Football Transfer Team Ranking
Alabama Football does not make lists of early Winners in the current Transfer cycle. Among SEC teams LSU, Ole Miss, and Auburn are considered winners. Even with the addition of the No. 1 rated transfer, quarterback John Mateer, Oklahoma is the most discussed Portal loser among SEC teams.
Roster building for the 2025 season is far from over. For teams still playing there is a short window after their final game of the 2024 season. The Crimson Tide could have more exits after the bowl game. Across college football, many players will decide to enter the Transfer Portal in the April window. Teams will continue to add players for months. The only real deadlines are tied to school enrollment.
The Crimson Tide still has roster needs, but without more attrition of key players those needs are only at receiver, offensive tackle, defensive line, and safety. Alabama football fans might be concerned that On3’s Transfer Team Rankings have the Crimson Tide ranked at No. 64 nationally. The On3 calculation rates the loss of Alabama’s 14 scholarship players as greater than its addition of five transfers. The calculation may be quantitatively correct, but it cannot measure future contributions from new players. For example, Alabama has lost lots of potential talent at receiver, but the proven production of transfer addition Isaiah Horten as a Miami Hurricane was 56 catches for 616 yards and five touchdowns in the 2024 season. None of Alabama’s exiting receivers came close to those numbers.
Building the 2025 roster is far from over. Alabama Football can be expected to have a better roster in 2025 than in 2024.
