Kalen DeBoer has couple of cards left to play to shore up Alabama's roster

Between the experienced transfers and the talented freshmen — as well as the returning players who will continue to compete for starting jobs and snaps — DeBoer should be able to field a competitive secondary. But if things aren't going well enough, DeBoer will have an opportunity to tweak the roster.

Recently, DeBoer appeared on Birmingham sports radio station WJOX, and he made clear that the team does "have a couple extra scholarships still available that we could utilize when that time comes."

“I think we do have a couple of spots, and you naturally just kind of keep your eyes and ears open for what those are going to be and we’ve gotta go through our spring ball and continue to evaluate our team,” DeBoer said, as recounted by Tsoukalas. “I think there’s some good young players that will step up and do a great job. But we do have a couple extra scholarships."

Whether those will go to the secondary or offensive line — another beleaguered position group without much-returning experience — remains to be seen, but it seems like so far, DeBoer is keeping his options open.

When the transfer portal reopens on April 15, the players Alabama chooses to fill in those empty roster slots will reveal a lot about which position groups are where they need to be and which positions need help before the season kicks off on Aug. 31.