The Tide coaching staff didn’t just suffer losses from the transfer portal, a handful of immediate starters for the program transferred in, as well as some young, talented players who could contribute in the next few seasons. Following the news that legendary head coach Nick Saban would be retiring as the leader of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, several players decided it was time to move on from Tuscaloosa—one of the notable being offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor. Alabama Crimson Tide football is under new leadership, as Kalen DeBoer takes over as the program’s head coach following the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban. One of the biggest concerns regarding DeBoer was his recruiting abilities. Those have since been alleviated to a certain degree after the impressive offseason he’s had on the recruiting trail and the transfer portal.
The natural next step will be a salary cap that will undoubtedly be litigated, intended to create parity within those two. Nick Saban is launching a career development program for former Alabama football players, he announced at his annual Nick Kids Golf Tournament on Thursday. The project is a joint venture with the University of Alabama and Livescore Nowgoal aims to help former Crimson Tide players develop the skills to find jobs outside of football. In ESPN’s latest transfer portal rankings (subscription required) from the 2024 offseason, Proctor ranked as the top overall player. UB hired Lembo three days before the start of the spring semester Jan. 24.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama football program as the college football offseason continues. As odd as it may sound, 2024 may be the perfect time for DeBoer to take over in Tuscaloosa. As the program undergoes a massive shift, so does the rest of college football. Major conference realignment takes effect, the College Football Playoff is expanded and there’s still much uncertainty regarding name, image, likeness and the transfer portal.
Niumatalolo’s first priority was retaining as many players as possible from the 2023 roster. San Jose State was at a perceived disadvantage because classes began Jan. 24, three days after Niumatalolo was hired, and the school’s period to add or drop classes to change a student’s academic schedule without a penalty didn’t end until Feb. 19. Konya, San Jose State’s athletic director, estimated that the Spartans spoke with at least 30 initial candidates at the start of a five-day search-and-hire period, including Niumatalolo, whom San Jose State contacted Jan. 17. Two days later, after gauging interest and narrowing the search to two candidates, Konya began face-to-face interviews at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. Then, DeBoer began to assemble a coaching staff and initially brought three coaches with him from Washington and retained only Freddie Roach and Robert Gillespie from Saban’s staff. Marlie Giles started the sixth inning off for Alabama with a leadoff single followed by a Bailey Dowling double, which Giles was called out at third base.
Both Nick and Terry Saban intend to fund the new program to a degree, according to the former Crimson Tide coach. They are also taking donations for the Saban Center STEM building, which is being set up to help local teachers access new technology. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. As a freshman in 2023, Proctor started all 14 games for the Crimson Tide on his way to being selected to the All-SEC Freshman Team. On Tuesday Coach DeBoer discussed adding Proctor back to the Alabama roster. The Crimson Tide is now one game away from elimination, while the Lady Vols can reach the Women's College World Series with their next win against Alabama.
Following Nick Saban’s retirement, Blackshire joined fellow former Crimson Tide players Isaiah Bond and Amari Niblack in transferring to Texas to play for former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. Jonathan Allen is one of Washington's longest-tenured players has seen a lot of change and experienced a lot of losing. The team has been known as three different names, he has played in just one playoff game and he's on his fourth coach. Smith seemed in line to receive a bigger role in 2023 before injuries forced him to miss most of the season. Now, with significant shakeup at defensive back, Smith could have an opportunity to start at the Husky defensive back spot, which is essentially the nickel defensive back in Wommack's defense. Having long waited for an opportunity like this one, Smith is in a good spot to have a breakout season if he wins the starting job.
The two teams have played eight times over the last two seasons and meet again this weekend in Super Regionals with a spot in the Women's College World Series on the line. The 2024 college football season is rapidly approaching and no other program will have more eyes trained on it than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Hunter De Siver is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media. During his time in Tuscaloosa, Hunter distributed articles covering Alabama football, basketball, and baseball for WVUA 23 TV and discussed these topics on Tide 100.9 FM. "I love the coaching staff, I love the direction we're moving in, I love the way we're working," Allen said after practice Wednesday. "It has truly been reinvigorating and just so fun to come to work every day. This is literally just a dream job right now."