Link: 2026 Transfer Portal

[Cruloc]

Quite simply.....we should be seeing a huge influx of transfers to fill lots of open spots that we need to fill.

They know what number they need and we seem to be getting beat and outworked by just about everyone.

We are as soft in the portal as we have been on the lines of scrimmage under this staff.

 

[CB4]

Anyone ever heard of Josh Jacobs? Had an offer to Tulsa and someone made a call on his behalf to Bama. CNS sent Coach Burns to watch him in a high school BASKETBALL game. Burton said we need this guy. The rest is HISTORY.

Very similar story in basketball with Derrick McKey. He, like Jacobs, was a late bloomer. Denny Crum at Louisville was really the only major school offering him. Wimp Sanderson and David Hobbs went over and watched Derrick play BASEBALL (at Shortstop). He was gobbling up every ball hit his direction. Wimp said to Hobbs “dang, if his hands are that good, and hand-eye coordination are that good, he should be pretty catching a basketball down on the post”.

To your point:. Many times it’s about that guy that has the eye for evaluation.

 

[Bama9001]

I'm hoping they want to see which players they can convince to withdraw from the portal before they go after their replacements. That's what I hope.

 

[BamaMoon]

We can go on and on about all of that, but I reiterate that there's nothing stopping Alabama from going out and doing their home work, their million dollar GM looking at his big board, which should have hundreds of players on it, and going and snatching up some 3 stars. Many of those 3 stars are basically just waiting for a major program to offer them.

There are literally thousands of players in the portal. Only a handful are truly sought after, the rest are like Indiana's portal class last year. 23 players, ranked below Alabama's 12 portal player class. Guess which one was better? Not because Indiana spent more, not because Indiana has more allure, because Indiana did their homework and evaluated these guys, and didn't stop at "good enough" (they brought in a combined 46 via recruiting and portal, this for a 11-2 team)..

Alabama is just trying to throw money at the top rated guys at this point... honesty it comes off as laziness to me. Try to spend your way out of an evaluation problem. Last year Alabama admittedly missed in the portal, small class, 4 stars that didn't pan out, so what do they do? Well same thing again of course!

I am not even close to being a football coach, but Miller looks pretty raw in that highlight clip. He's big. He's relatively fast. He appears to be eager to block. (What's that like for a coaching staff?)

But ... he out-classes those Div II boys so much, he appears to be playing against high schoolers. Miller's routes don't appear all that crisp and the *very* little I know about line blocking tells me he'll need some coaching on his technique.

I love how CKD and Morgan appear to be seeking outside the box for talent which can produce(!).

Laziness, thats exactly what it seems.

You sit and watch film and evaluate everybody you possibly can. This is where your money is earned.

You don't win at this level doing this as a 9 to 5. You better be in there grinding at all hours during this period especially....because everyone else is.

Im shocked honestly, that there appears to be no urgency......like we aren't prepared.....which seems to be a theme with this group.

So which is it???

Three different opinions about what we are doing.

1: Throwing money at top rated players
2. Taking the CC route and offering underated players to develop
3. We're not even trying...just being lazy

This is what's wrong right now. NOBODY knows what is happening, so a bunch of people are throwing mud against the wall to see if it will stick.

Why don't we just wait and see how things develop instead of deciding Alabama doesn't matter anymore?

 

[81usaf92]

For all of you saying "be patient", "let the process work itself out", "back off from the ledge", etc., I have one question: Can you name one piece of evidence, one past concrete action that gives you even a modicum of confidence that this staff is going to figure this out and salvage this portal effort?

I'm willing to trust if there's good basis for doing so. I'm just not seeing it.

idk maybe because our best players these past two years have been either transfers, DeBoer recruits, or guys that previously played for DeBoer.

The problem is that there are two portal windows. Everyone is fixated on the January one because it’s the one that you can add talent that can be trained in the spring. This is where people overspend for players just to get them on rosters. Let’s say Smothers flips to Texas… everyone knows him and Ralek won’t both be playing at Texas next year. But Texas is willing to find out which is better through competition and gamble stupid money for the guy that will almost assuredly transfer out after the spring to do it. The loser likely would go to a team like Alabama at a far cheaper price.

My point is we go from “the sky is falling” to “things are okay” to “why aren’t there any movements” to back to “the sky is falling” way too often. These things have their own time periods and they aren’t very comfortable for fans that aren’t among fanbases of massive war chests. We are basically the St Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves of the world playing the New York Yankees and LA Dodgers. We are going to lose a lot but we are also going to win a lot too. We just have to be better on striking gold on our wins and development.

 

[The Ols]

That’s his job snd he’s paid over s million a year! That’s the problem right there: low expectations for these jokers. Other programs have it already figured out but not this one. And we’re seeing the results on the field and in recruiting.

#2 recruiting class and we were in the final 8…
We’re very spoiled. It’s not the Bama Standard but it’s better than most…

 

[Cruloc]

So which is it???

Three different opinions about what we are doing.

1: Throwing money at top rated players
2. Taking the CC route and offering underated players to develop
3. We're not even trying...just being lazy

This is what's wrong right now. NOBODY knows what is happening, so a bunch of people are throwing mud against the wall to see if it will stick.

Why don't we just wait and see how things develop instead of deciding Alabama doesn't matter anymore?

Yes!

 

[CoolBreeze]

Kids are still entering the portal. Seems about 20 entered today already including some ole sis players, a d lineman from OSU and a Kentucky O Tackle rated 4 stars. I am just hoping Morgan and Co. are savvy enough to know we need good trench players and need numbers NOW. Cannot screw up portaling this round like we did last round and seems we are whiffing on some good ones already.

 

[BamaMoon]

.

There’s about a week left to turn this around but right now roster management is looking abysmal.

No, there's a week left in the portal being open.

The time to add players continues after if closes.

My goodness, so much negativity.

One moment, people are opining for the CC route: take lower ranked players and build a team of 23-24 year olds.

Next breath, we are throwing money at Star Rankings and sriking out...we are no longer Bama.....!!!

It's like everyone sees failure when the truth is we don't know for sure what the staff's plans are.

 

[CB4]

The problem is that there are two portal windows.

I thought the NCAA had gone to a single window now (for 15 days from Jan 2nd to the 16th) with the exception being for those teams in the CFP where they get five days after their teams’ last game or if there is a head coaching change?

 

[Bama Shoals]

So which is it???

Three different opinions about what we are doing.

1: Throwing money at top rated players
2. Taking the CC route and offering underated players to develop
3. We're not even trying...just being lazy

This is what's wrong right now. NOBODY knows what is happening, so a bunch of people are throwing mud against the wall to see if it will stick.

Why don't we just wait and see how things develop instead of deciding Alabama doesn't matter anymore?

Because we’ve already seen this play out last year just like this. And then have seen the team lay down on the field against top competition. It’s just the continued wasting and rotting of our great program. There’s nothing to indicate this staff is identifying lower rated players at positions of need and going out and getting them. You know, what almost everyone else is doing. They continue to overemphasize recruiting which is not nearly as important as it once was. There are no adjustments to approach just like on the field!

 

[BamaMoon]

I thought the NCAA had gone to a single window now (for 15 days from Jan 2nd to the 16th) with the exception being for those teams in the CFP where they get five days after their teams’ last game or if there is a head coaching change?

According to AI:

For 2026, the main NCAA Division I Football transfer portal window is January 2–16, a single, consolidated period with no spring window, though teams in the National Championship get an extra few days (Jan. 20-24)

also:

While players must enter the portal during the designated windows, teams can continue to add (recruit and sign) players who are already in the portal even after the window for entry closes.

 

[Bama Shoals]

idk maybe because our best players these past two years have been either transfers, DeBoer recruits, or guys that previously played for DeBoer.

The problem is that there are two portal windows. Everyone is fixated on the January one because it’s the one that you can add talent that can be trained in the spring. This is where people overspend for players just to get them on rosters. Let’s say Smothers flips to Texas… everyone knows him and Ralek won’t both be playing at Texas next year. But Texas is willing to find out which is better through competition and gamble stupid money for the guy that will almost assuredly transfer out after the spring to do it. The loser likely would go to a team like Alabama at a far cheaper price.

My point is we go from “the sky is falling” to “things are okay” to “why aren’t there any movements” to back to “the sky is falling” way too often. These things have their own time periods and they aren’t very comfortable for fans that aren’t among fanbases of massive war chests. We are basically the St Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves of the world playing the New York Yankees and LA Dodgers. We are going to lose a lot but we are also going to win a lot too. We just have to be better on striking gold on our wins and development.

There is only one portal window now: January 2 to 16.

 

[BamaMoon]

Because we’ve already seen this play out last year just like this. And then have seen the team lay down on the field against top competition. It’s just the continued wasting and rotting of our great program. There’s nothing to indicate this staff is identifying lower rated players at positions of need and going out and getting them. You know, what almost everyone else is doing. They continue to overemphasize recruiting which is not nearly as important as it once was. There are no adjustments to approach just like on the field!

No proof?

Check out Diaz, the WR we added (EDIT: were recruiting who signed with Iowa St.)

Again, commenting without zero facts!

EDIT: But the point remains...we are in the bushes looking!

 

[BamaMoon]

This thread has devolved into a discussion about something other than the transfer portal!

 

[BamaBoySince89]

No proof?

Check out Diaz, the WR we added.

Again, commenting without zero facts!

Didn’t Diaz commit to Iowa?

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

Nail meets Head

There are hundreds and hundreds of players in the Portal.

*IF* we can’t go head to head with other schools in the Top 10 of NIL pockets then we better at least be better than the Teams 11-40

I mean we do have to field a full team next season and need not just starters but depth.

We seem to be trying to put all our eggs in one basket and are willing to just keep striking out.

If we aren’t trying to find some diamonds in the rough from the pool of 2-3 Star Players then that’s a problem.

People keep saying that CKD just doesn’t have the right players for the system.

There is no way on earth there aren’t guys under 4 stars who could be found to fit ‘His System’

They may not be Uber talented and they might not do everything well but maybe they fit and are coachable.

What is this staff even doing right now?

We look like we are planning on fielding a team with 80-90 scholarship level players of which 20+ are TF and then another 30 players who walked on.

There’s about a week left to turn this around but right now roster management is looking abysmal.

I agree, but those guys would not be getting high ratings in the Portal Rankings either. You can't have it both ways...

 

[BamaMoon]

Didn’t Diaz commit to Iowa?

You are correct, we were targeting him

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

That’s a pretty big accusation…how do you know this? Swings and misses don’t mean you’re not working…retaining your current roster doesn’t mean you’re not working…my goodness everyone back off the edge. We’re not the only team trying to navigate this crazy new world. It sucks, everyone has said they hate it, we get it…I hate it…I’m guessing that there are a handful in here that could do better than our staff??? Come on…

Well said!!!

Man, the eeyores are out in full force!

 

[Bamabuzzard]

We can go on and on about all of that, but I reiterate that there's nothing stopping Alabama from going out and doing their home work, their million dollar GM looking at his big board, which should have hundreds of players on it, and going and snatching up some 3 stars. Many of those 3 stars are basically just waiting for a major program to offer them.

There are literally thousands of players in the portal. Only a handful are truly sought after, the rest are like Indiana's portal class last year. 23 players, ranked below Alabama's 12 portal player class. Guess which one was better? Not because Indiana spent more, not because Indiana has more allure, because Indiana did their homework and evaluated these guys, and didn't stop at "good enough" (they brought in a combined 46 via recruiting and portal, this for a 11-2 team)..

Alabama is just trying to throw money at the top rated guys at this point... honesty it comes off as laziness to me. Try to spend your way out of an evaluation problem. Last year Alabama admittedly missed in the portal, small class, 4 stars that didn't pan out, so what do they do? Well same thing again of course!

This is where I think our staff fails and will fail. They cant evaluate talent and find the talent that turns into big impact players. As you say, theyre just throwing money at the problem rather than getting in the evaluation weeds and doing homework. If they dont get it together and start finding a way to compete, they wont be here much longer.