Kalen DeBoer Feels Alabama Roster is in 'Good Spot' Heading into Summer

The Crimson Tide head coach credits the "brotherhood" of the team after no players entered the transfer portal during the spring window.

Alabama Wide Receiver Isaiah Horton (1) catches the ball during A-Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL on Saturday, Apr 12, 2025. | Alabama Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–– The spring transfer portal window came and went with little fanfare for Alabama football. The Crimson Tide added two tight ends, and on the reverse end, had zero scholarship players enter the transfer portal.

To clarify, Alabama did have nearly two dozen players enter the portal over the offseason with names like Justice Haynes, Kendrick Law and DeVonta Smith, but all those transfers out occurred during the initial portal period after the Crimson Tide's 9-4 season ended in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said a lot of the "roster mangament" took place during the winter.

Once the players returned to campus for the spring semester, all those scholarship players chose to remain in Tuscaloosa after the spring regardless of where they are on the depth chart.

"Really, they made a commitment to our team to get back to work," DeBoer said Wednesday in a media availability at the Regions Tradition golf tournament. "They’ve done a great job of just focusing on the right things. We’ve been able to take things, because of our continuity with both our coaching staff and the players, to another level when it comes to the details. That’s got to continue on. We’re far from where we need to be yet, but there’s good momentum, and they feel that.

"I think individually, our guys see a value, they see a role that they can bring to our team in the different capacities depending on who you’re talking about."

As DeBoer enters Year 2 in the role as the Alabama head coach, he is continuing to try and build his culture with the players who want to play for him and his vision for Crimson Tide football. DeBoer sees a continuity and alignment that starts with the coaching staff and then spreads throughout the remainder of the team. He credits the "brotherhood" that the players have created on the 2025 team.

According to DeBoer, Alabama didn't even really have any issues with guys coming forward saying they wanted to transfer that the coaches staff then had to fight to keep in Tuscaloosa.

"It’s never perfect, but it feels like we’re in a good spot as we head into the summer.”