Former Alabama All-Freshman SEC lineman Kadyn Proctor has committed to Iowa. The former 5-star offensive tackle from Des Moise, Iowa, was the fifth-highest-rated player in the 2023 graduating class and started all 14 games for the Alabama Crimson Tide last season. Proctor is the highest-rated offensive tackle to enter the transfer portal and fourth-highest overall in all positions.
Former Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor has committed to Iowa, per @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/hxp0WlG6Nm
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 20, 2024
While Proctor would have likely been the starter for Alabama, even with the coaching and play style change that Kalen DeBoer is bringing, the fit was probably not going to be as good as it will be in Iowa, which was likely the deciding factor in his decision to transfer to the Hawkeyes.
Leaving Alabama for Iowa
The second that Kadyn Proctor announced that he was going to transfer from Alabama, it became pretty obvious that he was going to commit to his hometown team, Iowa. While Iowa certainly isn’t known for having an explosive offense, they are known for running the ball, a lot. For an offensive tackle who takes pride in running defensive linemen into the ground, this is a perfect fit.
Proctor had actually committed to Iowa his junior year in high school; however, following a dominant senior season, Alabama and others made a huge push for the 5-star prospect and ultimately ended up flipping the commitment. In fact, Proctor was committed all the way until the final week before National Signing Day when he decided to take a last-minute recruiting visit to Tuscaloosa, where he ultimately changed his mind.
Alabama is Losing Players at an Alarming Rate
Since Nick Saban announced that he was retiring on January 12th, there have already been 11 players announcing that they will be transferring, on top of the other 20 that had already declared they would be leaving (some are left to wonder if perhaps some players had an idea before).
Some of these players include 5-star players Caleb Downs, Isaiah Bond, Julian Sayin, and Kadyn Proctor. Additionally, another 14 4-star players have also announced they will be leaving the Crimson Tide. Just for some perspective, there are dozens of P5 teams that don’t have 14 4-star players in total.
It is expected that Alabama will be able to recover to some extent, especially when and if a lot of Washington’s better players join the team. One thing to mention is that Washington was very senior-heavy last year, limiting the number of elite players on the remaining roster that will be able to transfer and meet the Alabama standard. As far as elite talent on other teams hoping to transfer in, most players from other teams can’t transfer until the next transfer window opens since the original transfer window closed on January 2nd.
Unless DeBoer can pull off a miracle, he will be very unlikely to reload with the same amount of talent that has already left (and will likely continue to leave).
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1 Comment
Great article. Alabama really is in a lot of trouble, but the brand alone may save it.