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Link: 2026 Transfer Portal

I think we're far enough in that I owe an updated rankings and what have you, since in my most "critical" phase I was pointing out the poor performance at the time. I don't expect anything else of note to happen past this point.

According to 247, Alabama is ranked 15th in the transfer portal. This compared to 21 last year. These rankings do not include some unranked players like the punter and long snapper. After being at the bottom for a little bit, they moved up to 7th in the SEC portal rankings.

This brings their overall rank to 5th (combined recruiting+portal) on 247. The assigned point values actually bring them closer to LSU at #1 than to Georgia at #10.

On3's portal rankings calculate things based on incoming and outgoing portal players, so it's a bit more accurate a view of the portal situation. Alabama is ranked 45. They lost more than they got in return, and it is a team that's at the moment focused more on building through recruiting, although there was more of a shift towards the portal.

The previous portal class on On3 had a 63 ranking, so it is meaningful improvement in that area.
 
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Got ZERO faith in these rankings. These services don't know these kids nor their capabilities, which is the job of the coaching staff. Fitting pieces to a puzzle that is a college football team every season has a whole lot more to do with personal interaction than any kind of numbering system. There are role players that make the team jive then there is the in person scouting...like Coach said, it is the difference in Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris.
 
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CoolBreeze said:
Got ZERO faith in these rankings. These services don't know these kids nor their capabilities, which is the job of the coaching staff. Fitting pieces to a puzzle that is a college football team every season has a whole lot more to do with personal interaction than any kind of numbering system. There are role players that make the team jive then there is the in person scouting...like Coach said, it is the difference in Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris.
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Probably most of the pencil pushers at these services have never even played football... :rolleyes:
 
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CoolBreeze said:
Got ZERO faith in these rankings. These services don't know these kids nor their capabilities, which is the job of the coaching staff. Fitting pieces to a puzzle that is a college football team every season has a whole lot more to do with personal interaction than any kind of numbering system. There are role players that make the team jive then there is the in person scouting...like Coach said, it is the difference in Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris.
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Obviously, if you treat them as gospel or actually spend NIL money or what have you based solely on these rankings, you are an idiot.

But, the data also says more than some people realize at first glance. I will give an example. 247 had last year's Indiana portal class at 25 and Alabama's at 21. This was the classic example of what you are alluding to. Alabama had higher ranked players, but Indiana had a deeper class with more quality additions. That simple formula did fail.

However, On3 ranked Indiana 13th and Alabama 61, their formula judging the incoming vs. the outgoing was far more accurately in this case as it realized Alabama was losing talent at a higher rate while Indiana was stockpiling it.

Even the 247 ranking though does offer some insight into good portal classes though, for instance their 2-5 teams in 2025 were Texas Tech, Miami, Ole Miss, and Oregon. That seems more accurate than just randomly throwing darts at a board doesn't it? After all those teams all made the playoffs and finished ranked, 2, 3, 4, and 7. On3 for the record has a top ranking of Texas Tech, LSU, Ole Miss, Oregon, and Miami.

If I switch it to overall, the 2-5 247 teams in 2025 also all made the playoffs (Georgia, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio State). The high rankings do not guarantee success, but they are still a good indicator of future success. You can still screw up in the process of accumulating talent, but top 5 is a solid indicator you are likely to make the playoffs, so it does mean something and that is the basic principle that if you stack enough talent your odds of success go up dramatically.

The mistake here is to rely on these rankings when going after talent. You need to do your own in-house evaluations and find your own gems. It is pretty useful to the average fan though, who doesn't have the means to do that and in this case those nerds on the recruiting sites still know more about the prospects than the average fan.

TLDR: To me it would be more accurate to say the rankings don't mean everything than to say they don't mean anything.
 
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KrAzY3 said:
Obviously, if you treat them as gospel or actually spend NIL money or what have you based solely on these rankings, you are an idiot.

But, the data also says more than some people realize at first glance. I will give an example. 247 had last year's Indiana portal class at 25 and Alabama's at 21. This was the classic example of what you are alluding to. Alabama had higher ranked players, but Indiana had a deeper class with more quality additions. That simple formula did fail.

However, On3 ranked Indiana 13th and Alabama 61, their formula judging the incoming vs. the outgoing was far more accurately in this case as it realized Alabama was losing talent at a higher rate while Indiana was stockpiling it.

Even the 247 ranking though does offer some insight into good portal classes though, for instance their 2-5 teams in 2025 were Texas Tech, Miami, Ole Miss, and Oregon. That seems more accurate than just randomly throwing darts at a board doesn't it? After all those teams all made the playoffs and finished ranked, 2, 3, 4, and 7. On3 for the record has a top ranking of Texas Tech, LSU, Ole Miss, Oregon, and Miami.

If I switch it to overall, the 2-5 247 teams in 2025 also all made the playoffs (Georgia, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio State). The high rankings do not guarantee success, but they are still a good indicator of future success. You can still screw up in the process of accumulating talent, but top 5 is a solid indicator you are likely to make the playoffs, so it does mean something and that is the basic principle that if you stack enough talent your odds of success go up dramatically.

The mistake here is to rely on these rankings when going after talent. You need to do your own in-house evaluations and find your own gems. It is pretty useful to the average fan though, who doesn't have the means to do that and in this case those nerds on the recruiting sites still know more about the prospects than the average fan.

TLDR: To me it would be more accurate to say the rankings don't mean everything than to say they don't mean anything.
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I see your point. But all of this ranking crap is for the fans and it is a big industry. I am looking at our team, looking at needs and making my own opinion on how we do based on my knowledge from the cheap seats. The staff has their livelihoods at stake so I am sure they are doing their due diligence. So whatever, 16 or 61, I don't give a flip.
 
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I've seen more than a few pundits -- and some members here, whose opinions I usually give good weight -- say something along the lines of "We lost more than we gained in this portal." I strongly disagree.

[I developed a way-to-long post about the losses and gains through the portal. Previewing it, I bored myself(!).]

Here's my summary: The future looks bright! Roll Tide Roll!!!
 
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