Your latest Crimson Tide news and notes.
Happy Friday, everyone. Or, as happy as it can be around here after watching Alabama get dominated in another postseason game, the possibility of which had to be in the back of every Alabama fan’s mind. I am not going to bother writing an Initial Impressions post for that game. Here’s the impression: Alabama didn’t belong on the same field with Indiana. They got embarrassed, they should be embarrassed, and there is nothing more to say.
I guess I did write one.
In any case, this season ended much like 2024. The Tide scored 27 points in the two middle quarters at Oklahoma. In the other ten quarters starting with the SEC Championship Game, they totaled a pathetic 20 points and scarcely managed to move the football at all.
This repeat late season collapse is going to result in another very uncomfortable offseason for Kalen DeBoer.
Somehow, Kalen DeBoer will now be under even more pressure from the Alabama fan base in 2026.
Alabama suffered its worst bowl defeat in program history in the Rose Bowl on Thursday. No. 1 Indiana throughly dismantled and demolished the No. 9 Crimson Tide, 38-3. Indiana had 407 total yards and 215 rushing yards while averaging 6.6 yards per play. Alabama had 193 yards. Total.
It was the third time in the last four games that Alabama’s offense averaged fewer than four yards per play. An explosive offense that was one of the nation’s best at the start of the season broke down at the end of the year — namely due to an inability to run the football.
I have seen differing interpretations of the quote below.
“And I know because I’ve been doing this long enough, and I have experiences that I can fall back on, that the fine line between what we had out there today and being at the very top is such a fine line.
“And you’ve got to go back to starting over from scratch with putting the people around you, the right people, committing to something, a common goal together and the actions following it.
“So it’s such a fine line. It may not feel like it when you’re in this moment right now and what happened today. But I can tell you, it’s a fine line between being here and being at the top.
“But we’ve got to do the work. We’ve got to put the work in. You’ve got to believe. You’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to have discipline. We’ll get back to work and start all over again.”
The first sentence is highly concerning. What we saw on the field yesterday is not a fine line between where Alabama is and where the fanbase rightfully expects it to be. Nobody would have been overly upset with a competitive loss like the one Georgia took to Ole Miss. But that Rose Bowl debacle was the most through beating we’ve seen Alabama take in decades, and that is not acceptable. Add in the Georgia game and that “fine line” is closer to the Grand Canyon in size.
But he does then discuss “starting over from scratch” which would imply reflection on what changes need to happen. Time will tell whether he has what it takes to get Alabama back to competing for national titles. Today that is doubted, and rightfully so.
John Talty believes that one change Alabama must make is pursuing more players in the transfer portal.
Regardless of what happens at the QB position, Alabama needs to be more aggressive this transfer portal cycle. Alabama has prioritized high school players over transfer recruiting, which makes plenty of sense and is the more sustainable long-term strategy. The Tide signed the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class in December, headlined by three five-star recruits.
But Alabama nearly took a complacent approach to the portal last cycle. They added a few pieces, sure, but I heard from multiple personnel folks around college football who questioned Alabama not being more aggressive in adding impact players. As one Power Four personnel person told me, Alabama would end up being aggressive in the portal during Year 3 out of desperation when it should be proactively doing it in Year 2.
That obviously worked for Indiana, but I still believe that player development is possible, especially since they were able to keep almost everyone intact during the last portal cycle. The 2025 freshman class showed a ton of promise, and those guys will have a year under their belts next season to join an equally promising 2026 class. But, there will still be some needs on the roster that should be filled.
Talty specifically mentions the quarterback spot in that piece, suggesting that a transfer should be brought in if Ty Simpson leaves for the NFL. In theory, Keelon Russell should be ready to go by year two. That position will be the most scrutinzed, as always, but help is sorely needed in the trenches for whoever will be back there. Alabama’s offensive line hasn’t been very good this year, but it was abused like a FCS squad against Georgia and Indiana. And the defensive line could use an upperclassman difference maker as well, especially since Tim Keenan III is out of eligibility.
Some of Alabama’s former players have been vocal about the failure of coaches to get the most out of the talent on the roster. OJ Howard is the latest to weigh in.
Alabama fans have noticed how other programs have had former players visible on the sidelines during these playoffs, something we saw often in the Saban era. This from Reggie Ragland raises some eyebrows.
I’d love to know more about that. The best thing DeBoer could do is tap into the almost infinite resource of Alabama players who lived the standard, won titles and bleed Crimson.
In any event, next up for the football program will be draft and portal entry decisions. Last year, the coaching staff seemingly wanted to keep everyone. It will be interesting to see if they take the same approach this time. If the intent is to shop in the portal, then roster spots have to be created.
As far as the draft goes, you’d expect Kadyn Proctor to declare early for sure. Ty Simpson, Bray Hubbard, Yhonzae Pierre, Parker Brailsford, Isaiah Horton, James Smith, and Keon Sabb will have decisions to make.
It’s officially basketball season. Kentucky visits tomorrow, and we will have coverage on that later.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
Category: General Sports
