Kelby Collins Commits to South Carolina After Lone Season at Alabama

South Carolina will be the third SEC school Collins has played for in his career.

Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Kelby Collins (17) brings down Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) during a first-round College Football Playoff game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Alabama won 34-24. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former Alabama defensive lineman Kelby Collins, who appeared in 14 games this past season before entering the transfer portal last week, has committed to South Carolina, according to On3's Hayes Fawcett. Collins will be joining up with his brother, Arkansas State transfer Drew Collins, in Columbia.

A former four-star recruit in the 2023 class, Kelby Collins began his collegiate career with the Florida Gators, spending two seasons in Gainesville. He came to Alabama via the transfer portal last offseason and logged 12 total tackles in a Crimson Tide uniform. Collins did not record any tackles in Alabama's trip to South Carolina on Oct. 25.

Before the Crimson Tide's College Football Playoff loss against No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl, Collins said the season had brought a lot of challenges. He missed the SEC Championship Game defeat opposite Georgia last month due to an unspecified issue, and Alabama lost 28-7 without him and LT Overton on the field. Collins had one solo tackle in the College Football Playoff, which came in the team's first-round comeback road win at Oklahoma.

"For the most part, I think for myself, and some of the goals that I've set being a part of a new team for the first year, I think my season [has] been pretty good," Collins, an Alabama native, said on Dec. 30. He tallied three tackles for loss and two sacks over the course of the 2025-26 season.

He's now going to have the experience of being a first-year player on a new team all over again, for the third time in his college career. This time, Collins has the familiarity of multiple years of previous SEC experience at different schools going into his final year of eligibility. The adversity he pushed through as a member of the Crimson Tide helped him with valuable lessons, which he shared details about before the Rose Bowl.

"I'm stronger than I think," Collins said. "It's just a testament of just wanting to get back on the field, wanting to get better. Wanting to get better, and wanting more from myself."

Across 32 games at the college level, Collins has 41 combined tackles. Eighteen of those contests took place at Florida, including six in the 2024-25 campaign. His season-high number of tackles in a game with the Crimson Tide was two. He reached that mark on two occasions, against Wisconsin (Sept. 13) and Eastern Illinois (Nov. 22).