As is now the norm, Alabama Football has experienced a mass exodus of transfer portal entrants this offseason. While this cleansing is a necessary component in the process of building a championship roster, it’s tough because most of the outgoing transfers are talented players that came into the Alabama Football program with a lot of promise.
The position rooms hit hardest were the offensive line and the wide receivers, which saw five departures each. Alabama also lost three cornerbacks to the portal this offseason. Of the 18 outgoing scholarship transfers, which players will have the biggest impact at their new schools?
Former Alabama Football linebacker Demouy Kennedy could very well find success at his new home in Boulder, Colorado. Kennedy is a talented, former 4-star linebacker who was the top-ranked player in the state of Alabama in the class of 2020.
He spent his first two years as an impactful special teams player for the Crimson Tide. As a junior in 2022, he suffered a season-ending injury just as it seemed as though his role was beginning to increase. This was a stroke of misfortune that not only ended his junior year, but would’ve put him behind the 8-ball in what has been a heated inside linebacker competition for 2023.
It’s tough to blame Demouy Kennedy for transferring when faced with these circumstances, and I think he will thrive at Colorado.
Of the five wide receivers that transferred out, the general consensus is that Aaron Anderson had the most potential. Of course, this could just be because we never saw him, whereas we were able to see former highly-touted recruits like Christian Leary and Jojo Earle.
Still, Anderson has a lot of speed and the talent to be one of the best slot receivers in the SEC. Unfortunately, he opted to transfer to division rival LSU. I think he fits into the Tigers’ offense well and will have a productive season. Anderson and the Tigers come to Tuscaloosa on November 4th.
Former Alabama Football running back Trey Sanders was a fan favorite, and his rollercoaster of a story has been told many times. The top running back in the class of 2019, Sanders came to Tuscaloosa with sky-high expectations. He broke his foot in fall camp just before the start of his freshman season, missing the whole season.
Sanders returned in 2020, and showed some promise in a reserve role behind Najee Harris and others during Bama’s national championship season. Tragically, Sanders was involved in a serious car accident during Alabama’s bye week and suffered a season-ending hip injury.
Though many were unsure about his ability to fully recover, Trey Sanders returned to the field again the following season. As the 2021 season progressed, the Alabama running back room was decimated by injuries, including ACL injuries to Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams.
In an ironic twist, Sanders was suddenly one of the only healthy backs remaining and saw his role increase. He ran for a career-high 314 yards and two touchdowns for the season.
Trey Sanders amassed 594 yards from scrimmage and three scores in his Alabama Football career, before entering the portal. Another year removed from his injuries, he could fill a need in the TCU backfield.
Personally, I would love to see him have the breakout year that he was always meant to have.