My how things change. Only 6 days ago, Alabama fans were in pure panic mode after an exodus of a little over a dozen players entering the transfer portal. Turns out, that same thing was happening to other teams, and after a couple of weeks of giving some time for the dust to settle, Alabama has now started closing the deal on getting new players coming in, not just going out.
In particular, yesterday was a big day for the Tide, as three highly anticipated players committed to play for Coach Kalen DeBoer next year.
First, there was OL Kam Dewberry. The Texas A&M product was a Freshman All-American back in 2022 and has been a swing/utility lineman over the last two seasons. He’s played over 600 snaps the last two seasons, moving between both guard spots.
At 6’4” 330, he’s a massive blocker in the same mold as the departing Tyler Booker, and he’s a former top-100 recruit. Throw in three years of game experience for one of the top college football programs, and you can expect that the coaching staff expects Dewberry to be Booker’s replacement next year.
Next, Alabama received the commitment of the hotly contested Isaiah Horton.
Horton is a 6’3” receiving threat who had 56 catches for 616 yards and 5 TDs for the Miami Hurricanes last year. The rising senior will add a body type to Alabama’s receiving group that isn’t already represented – and seems to be the type of player that DeBoer favors at WR.
He’s more of a sideline and endzone threat, while Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard can work more with the ball in their hands and out of the slot. Horton’s got the experience that he should be expected to be part of the top trio with Williams and Bernard next year.
Finally, we have LB Nikhai Hill-Green
This is an interesting guy. Hill-Green is a product of St. Frances High School in Maryland, (he was a team mate with Chris Braswell) played for a three years with the Michigan Wolverines, then transferred to Charlotte, where he became a 3rd-team All-AAC player. He then transferred to Colorado, where he upped his game under Deion Sanders and became a 2nd-team All-Big 12 selection after an impressive year with 12 tackles for loss and a couple of interceptions.
Hill-Green is an interesting one, he’s a guy that took a while to develop and has now transferred three times, but he’s shown significant improvement while stepping up in competition over the last two seasons, and is now a 5th year veteran with multiple All-Conference selections to his name. With Jihaad Campbell and Deontae Lawson both likely off to the NFL, Alabama will desperately need a veteran body at linebacker going into 2025. I wouldn’t be surprised if the staff hopes to use him rotationally with some younger players, rather than a full-time starter, but the experience will be great to have for the linebacker room.
Alabama filled three key starting holes for 2025 on Saturday with veteran players with a lot of big-game experience between them. On top of that, the Tide also pulled in a DL/Bandit from Florida, Kelby Collins, and a depth cornerback from Utah, Cam Calhoun, earlier in the week.
It’s been a huge week for the Tide. I think they’re still likely looking for one more defensive back for depth (or for starting) and will hold out spots for any other good fits that might pop up, but for now, the Tide mostly upgraded some key positions from this first wave of the transfer portal
