Things are heating up in the Transfer Portal for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football. For the second straight day, the Crimson Tide has landed an impact player at a serious position of need.
Following the commitment of NC State RB Hollywood Smothers on Monday, Alabama added a commitment on Tuesday from Virginia Tech LB Caleb Woodson, a two-year starter for the Hokies with one season of eligibility remaining:
BREAKING: Virginia Tech standout transfer LB Caleb Woodson has Committed to Alabama, he tells @On3sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 6, 2026
Through 3 seasons he’s totaled 151 tackles, 3 PD, 2 Sacks, and 1 INT
He’ll have 1 year of eligibility lefthttps://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/FUKcd7UHyA
Woodson arrived on Monday for an official visit with Alabama, and DeBoer and the staff were able to lock him down without him leaving to explore other options.
Virginia Tech LB Caleb Woodson commits to Alabama
Woodson was a two-year starter for the Hokies, racking up 151 tackles over his three seasons in Blacksburg. He'll have one season of eligibility left and immediately injects some much-needed experience at off-ball linebacker for Alabama.
Alabama will be replacing its top three players at the position with Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green all running out of eligibility.
Alabama has some talented players to fill the Sting and Mike spots with QB Reese and Luke Metz, among others, ready for increased roles next year. But there's no substitute for playing experience, and Woodson offers a ton of that. He started 16 games over the last two years.
Woodson was a safety in high school before transitioning to LB at Virginia Tech. That coverage experience makes him intriguing for Kane Wommack's scheme. Wommack prefers to rush three or four guys and drop back into zone coverages. That tends to ask a lot out of the linebackers to cover the middle of the field. Woodson should be an upgrade in doing that from the Tide's 2025 trio.
Woodson will serve as a nice mentor for the young and talented linebackers on the Crimson Tide's roster. Along with Reese and Metz, Alabama has Duke Johnson and Abduall Sanders from the 2025 recruiting class. They are also adding 3-star Zay Hall to the room in the 2026 class. That's not to mention 5-star Xavier Griffin, who is likely to alternate between the off and on-ball LB spots as a Jihaad Campbell-like versatile chess piece for Wommack to utilize.
Woodson is the third addition for Alabama in the Transfer Portal so far, joining Oklahoma State TE Josh Ford and NC State RB Hollywood Smothers.
You can keep up with all of Alabama's Transfer Portal activity by following this link.