Alabama lost a promising young player on Friday in arguably the first portal loss that stings a little.
Redshirt freshman Noah Carter has decided to enter the Transfer Portal, according to multiple reports.
NEW: Alabama EDGE Noah Carter plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @Hayesfawcett3 reportshttps://t.co/KXsiBcm1Hr pic.twitter.com/muu2Y7Q9lV
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 3, 2026
Carter was originally committed to Kalen DeBoer at Washington, but the 4-star edge rusher decided to follow DeBoer to Alabama in early 2024. Carter took a redshirt last season, but emerged as a contributor in the Crimson Tide's Wolf LB room in 2025.
Carter recorded eight tackles on the season with no sacks, but the potential is certainly there for him to blossom in the right system.
Alabama OLB Noah Carter is headed to the Transfer Portal
Carter saw his playing time increase at Alabama after the injury to Qua Russaw, who opened the year as the Tide's starter at the position. Yhonzae Pierre emerged as the starter from there, and Carter tended to rotate with true freshman Justin Hill as Pierre's backup until Russaw returned from injury. While he still saw playing time, his role was inconsistent from there and likely not to change much in 2026.
Both Pierre and Russaw could - and hopefully will - return. Hill already passed Carter on the depth chart and could be the primary backup at Wolf next season, with Russaw a candidate to potentially move inside.
Alabama added several versatile pieces to the roster in the 2026 recruiting class that could play multiple positions, most notably 5-star LB Xavier Griffin, who has been compared to Jihaad Campbell. He might start his career playing Wolf before ultimately making the move to an off-ball linebacker position, though there is an immediate opportunity at both Sting and Mike in Kane Wommack's system with Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green exhausting their eligibility.
DeBoer and company are likely in the market for an edge rusher, either at Wolf or Bandit to try and bolster the pass rush. Alabama struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks without blitzing, which is not the preferred method for Wommack.
He prefers to rush three or four and drop back into zones. The better quarterbacks Alabama faced this season picked that apart because of the Tide's struggles to get home with three or four rushers.