Since Kalen DeBoer took over for the Alabama Crimson Tide, it's hard to keep up with the number of former top football recruits leaving Tuscaloosa.
It's certainly not disappointing to rival Auburn fans, and it's also interesting. So, at what point will Deboer and his coaching staff lose too many good players to truly be considered a top football program, at least for now?
The latest Bama player to hit the Transfer Portal would be highly-regarded defensive back Tony Mitchell. Coming from Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, 247 Sports high school ranking for Thompson was #192 in the nation. He had offers from much of the SEC and beyond. He's just a snippet of what's been happening since Nick Saban's retirement and the exodus from Tuscaloosa began.
The Crimson Tide are staring at the losses of safety Caleb Downs, quarterback Julian Sayin (class of 2024 recruit), wide receiver Isaiah Bond, and cornerback Dezz Ricks, just to name a few.
Looking at the On3 Transfer Portal rankings in the same order as above, those are the #1, #3, #7, and #28 players from the Transfer Portal. That's hard to overcome now or in the future. While Auburn certainly has its own issues to resolve on the roster, at least for now, Alabama appears to be dropping back to the back.
The next few months will be vital to each of Alabama and Auburn as they attempt to reel in talent from the Transfer Portal. It's not inconceivable that Auburn closes the talent gap even more, especially after the major Transfer Portal wins Hugh Freeze and his staff recently came away with.
Is Alabama still a top football program? The Crimson Tide should still probably be considered a top-10 program, but the roster is simply not in nearly the same shape it was under Saban.
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