The Alabama Crimson Tide has started to see a small exodus from the program. After legendary head coach Nick Saban retired, the program hired former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. Players now have a 30 window where they can enter the transfer portal. Former top-75 recruit Shawn Murphy announced yesterday that he intends to enter the portal.
🚨BREAKING🚨 Alabama LB Shawn Murphy has entered the NCAA transfer portal, @On3sports has learned.
Murphy is a former Top-75 recruit from the 2022 class.https://t.co/IqeFr6bLkI pic.twitter.com/y4jncgYH7U
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) January 14, 2024
Alabama Loses LB Shawn Murphy
Murphy was a four-star linebacker coming out of high school. He did see the field much on defense but was a staple on special teams over the last couple of seasons. Appearing in all 13 games, Murphy only recorded three tackles. He will now look for a fresh start elsewhere. Murphy is the fourth player to enter the transfer portal and the third young defensive talent. All of the defensive players who have entered so far were special teams staples and depth pieces but those are extremely important for a team.
More To Come This Week
Alabama fans should expect more players to announce their intentions in the coming weeks. If there is a silver lining for the program it is that there hasn’t been a mass exodus so far. Players might be waiting to talk with DeBoer and see what his vision for the program is. Players might decide Tuscaloosa is still the right place for them and stick around. DeBoer has done a lot of winning in his head coaching career and the expectation is that the Crimson Tide will be in contention for championships.
How many more players will we see enter? This week will likely be a big one to watch for the Crimson Tide program.