Can Texas A&M Take Advantage of Nick Saban's Retirement?
After 17 seasons, 11 SEC titles and six national championships, Nick Saban is finally stepping away from the Alabama Crimson Tide.
And given the current landscape of college football and the NCAA Transfer Portal, alongside that will come the inevitable expectation that players will be looking to make a quick exit from Tuscaloosa.
So can the Texas A&M Aggies, who are in the midst of their own roster rebuild, take advantage of that situation?
Well, the simple answer is yes. And it has already started.
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The Aggies are set to receive an official visit from five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams on Saturday, who is set to sign in February and recently de-committed from the Tide after the Saban news dropped.
The Aggies also just hired Holman Wiggins as their wide receivers coach from Alabama last week, giving Williams some comfort already with what the Aggies have to offer.
However, there is much more to consider when it comes to the Alabama roster, than just unsigned recruits.
Effective Wednesday, every player on the Alabama roster, including the early enrollees, now has a 30-day window to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. Meaning any player on the roster who elects to leave, will be open game for other programs to pursue.
And despite getting commits from more than 20 players via the portal already, the Aggies are not done reconstructing their roster.
So who could the Aggies be keeping an eye on as the Alabama players mull over their decisions to as to whether or not to stay in Tuscaloosa?
Current roster stars like Isaiah Bond, Caleb Downs, Kayden Proctor, and Jihaad Campbell all make sense. So do up-and-coming players yet to prove themselves such as Jalen Halen, Ty Simpson, Dylan Lonergan, Shazz Preston, and Dezz Ricks.
Not to mention the early enrollees like No. 1 2024 QB Julian Sayin, or Zabien Brown or Caleb Odom.
Of course, any conversations such as this would first require those players to elect to enter the portal, which could depend entirely on who the next coach at Alabama ends up being.
The Aggies would also have a lot of work to do to get into the conversation with any of those players to begin with, considering the countless programs that would also be in the running for their talents.
Nevertheless, it is certainly something worth keeping an eye on for Texas A&M, especially considering the current state of the program's roster construction.
