By Tony Thomas
With the retirement of Nick Saban, the 2024 Alabama Crimson Tide football team will be a shell of its 2023 self, as they have lost a huge amount of talent via NFL Draft Declarations and the transfer portal.
However, they do return starting experience at the most important position on the field, QB Jalen Milroe. Alabama also returns starters at TE (1), offensive line (3), defensive line (2), linebacker (1), and safety (1). Based on this returning production from last year’s squad, the Crimson Tide ranks a dismal 115th out of 134 teams in the FBS.
New Head Coach Kalen DeBoer scoured the transfer portal, looking for talented players to fill positions of need and provide depth. He succeeded, and below are three of those transfers that will make an impact for the Crimson Tide when the season starts this fall.
DL LT Overton
Previous School: Texas A&M Aggies
6’2”, 275 lbs.
A former 5-star recruit and #6 defensive lineman in the 2022 recruiting class, LT Overton has the potential to be a disruptive force for the Crimson Tide. Last season, Overton had 17 tackles and pressured the quarterback three times. In 2022, Overton racked up 31 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and five quarterback pressures.
In three seasons as a phenom at the prep level, Overton recorded 229 tackles, 96.5 tackles for loss, and 48 sacks. Overton certainly provides depth to a defensive line that will be a strength for this team, and he could be penciled in as a starter when it is all said and done.
CB Domani Jackson
Previous School: USC Trojans
6’1”, 190 lbs.
In 2023, Domani Jackson recorded 33 tackles and three pass breakups in 11 games. As a former 5-star recruit, Jackson was ranked in the Top 15 nationally and the #1 player in California in the 2022 recruiting class.
Jackson uses elite speed to run stride for stride with receivers, possesses excellent coverage skills, and fills a position of need in a secondary that was gutted by NFL Draft declarations and players transferring out.
OL Parker Brailsford
Previous School: Washington Huskies
6’2”, 275 lbs.
Starting all 15 games for the Huskies last season, Parker Brailsford beat out bigger and taller players for the starting job and can play multiple positions, having played right guard and center last season. Brailsford is very strong for his size and stays engaged on his blocks with defenders until the play is blown dead.
A member of the Huskies offensive line unit that won the 2023 Joe Moore Award as the top offensive line in college football, Brailsford was named to the 2nd Team All-PAC 12 and to the 1st Team Freshman All-American team. Brailsford follows his former head coach to Tuscaloosa and fills a critical position of need for the Crimson Tide that returns just three starters on the offensive line.
The Crimson Tide won 10 or more games in 16 of Saban’s 17 seasons as the head man in Tuscaloosa, as they reloaded with talented 5-star recruits every season. There was an expectation to win, and Saban made it look easy. I cannot remember a Saban-coached Alabama team losing this much talent through attrition in one off-season.
DeBoer has been a winner at each of his coaching stops. Make no mistake, this is now a very different Alabama football program. Can the Crimson Tide continue the streak of 10-win seasons? The pressure will be on DeBoer to continue the winning ways of his predecessor, a pressure to win that has not been felt in Tuscaloosa in almost 20 years.
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