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They didn't even wait for the final game, the Sugar Bowl, to begin announcing their departures. Those were the transfers, heading for other schools, and maybe didn't feel comfortable suiting up for a final time for the Alabama Crimson Tide

A couple of them had even been considered starters during the 2022 season. 

Welcome to the new norm in college football. 

With turnover only on the increase the Crimson Tide roster was more in flux than ever this offseason.  

Still adding to the mayhem was the NCAA's decision granting an extra year of eligibility to anyone who participated during the Covid season of 2020. Some of those players are still playing college football. 

Normally the NCAA limit is 85 scholarship players on the active roster at any point, and football programs may sign only 25 players during each recruiting cycle.

The latter part has been around since 2011, after Ole Miss under Houston Nutt had a 37-man signing class in 2009. The governing body closed down many of the loopholes he used to try and pack his roster, although coaches can still backtrack some to fill gaps from the previous year. 

However, the 85-player limit was temporarily lifted due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

When the NCAA decided that the 2020 season would not count against a player’s eligibility, regardless of if he played or not, the maximum limit became moot. Theoretically, a football team could have 100-plus scholarship players until those players involved all departed.

That's assuming the school could afford to do so. 

Regardless, Nick Saban has continued to stockpile talent in impression fashion. Two years ago, Saban signed what some called the best recruiting class in history (at least on paper), and then continued to add top prospects with top-ranked classes in both 2022 and 2023.   

The coach doesn’t disclose scholarship information so there's always a little bit of guesswork involved, but here’s a look at each position group along with the year each player arrived. 

Those ranked in the top 99 of his recruiting class is labeled as such, with any ranking by Sports Illustrated given priority. 

Designations: 

  • A "*" means he was considered consensus top-32 player in his recruiting class (which essentially translates to five-star designation). There are 16 such players on the 2023 Crimson Tide. 
  • A No. or [] designation means listed on the SI99. 
  • A ranking listed in () means from 247composite rankings. 

This story will be updated as necessary.