Alabama Football has been in a spot where they haven’t been in over a decade – Uncomfortable. This is an odd space for Alabama fans, and for many of them, the first time they’ve ever had their team face any kind of real adversity.
With Nick Saban’s announcement of moving on, most of the news coming out of Tuscaloosa has been about players leaving the program rather than them coming in. But as spring football gets going, and the second transfer portal window gets close to opening, it feels like the (crimson) tide may be finally turning back to where it has been since the last 2000s.
Alabama Picks Up a Quick Athletic Player
On Monday, 4-star prospect Derrick Smith announced that he is committing to play for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect out of Southside High School in Selma, Alabama, is ranked as the No. 4 athlete in the nation, the No. 4 prospect in the state of Alabama, and the No. 57 overall player in the 2025 class according to On3 Recruiting.
Currently, Smith plays on both sides of the ball and is listed as an ATH online. He is expected to play receiver or safety for Alabama this upcoming season, although he has also taken snaps at linebacker and quarterback.
In other words, he is the perfect recruit on a team when you need a plug-in player who could play just about any skill position.
Transfer Portal Should Bring Happy Days for Alabama
When Nick Saban announced he was stepping down from the Head Coaching position, he left the Crimson Tide in a tough spot. The transfer portal had already closed for all of college football, meaning that the only players who could transfer to Alabama were either players who had already entered but hadn’t signed somewhere else, grad transfers, or players who had also lost their coach. Of P5 teams, only Michigan, Arizona, and Washington were included.
However, the transfer portal will open up again, and with it, dozens of players will be ready to fulfill their dream of playing for Alabama. The portal is still a bit ways from opening up again (May 1st -15th), but don’t be surprised if dozens of players commit to the Crimson Tide before then, as they let their coaches know their intention to leave.
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