If you expected the status quo in Tuscaloosa after a run to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals this season, Kalen DeBoer and Courtney Morgan have proved you wrong. The Crimson Tide aren’t overhauling everything heading into DeBoer’s third year, but they are giving the defensive line a total rebuild.
On Tuesday, defensive lineman Kelby Collins re-entered the transfer portal after just one season at Alabama, becoming the fifth defensive lineman off Kane Wommack’s unit to test the open market this offseason, joining Noah Carter, Keon Keeley, Qua Russaw, and James Smith. Along with LT Overton and Tim Keenan III exhausting their eligibility, DeBoer and Morgan suddenly found themselves with a major weakness to address.
Alabama makes major portal splash with Devan Thompkins addition
DeBoer and Morgan clearly understood the urgency of the situation along the defensive line and set about laying the foundation for next year’s unit with the addition of USC transfer Devan Thompkins on Wednesday. Thompkins was highly-sought-after in the portal class, slotting as a top 10 player at the position by Saturday Blitz’s rankings; however, his arrival alone won’t be enough to prevent the Tide from getting dominated in the trenches next season, as they were by Indiana in the Rose Bowl.
Thompkins, who is a capable interior pass-rusher, will provide a nice inside-out pairing with Yhonzae Pierre, who emerged as the Tide’s top edge in 2025. However, the rest of the defensive line, as currently constructed, would feature an inexperienced group led by rising redshirt juniors Edric Hill and Jordan Renaud, along with rising sophomores London Simmons and Isaia Faga.
That’s a group with talented players, but one that lacks proven depth and is still desperate for more pass-rushing juice. In 2025, Pierre led the team with 45 QB pressures, and Overton checked in at No. 2 with 25. They were the only two players with more than 20 QB pressures on the year. The Tide finished 29th in the country by sack rate and 23rd by opponent rushing success rate, but much of the defensive line talent that produced those numbers is now gone.
Alabama needs to make more moves to sure up its defensive line
Keon Keeley is a player who never developed at Alabama after arriving as a highly-touted five-star. However, Alabama had to turn to him late in the season because of the team’s lack of edge rushing talent. Now, he’s gone, and after years of hoping for anything from him, he’s suddenly a player that the Tide might actually miss.
Luckily, there is plenty of edge talent in the transfer portal market, though it won’t come cheap. With Thompkins locked down, Alabama should make a push for some of the top available edge rushers in the country, like Missouri transfer and former Georgia five-star Damon Wilson II. Wilson entered the portal on Tuesday and immediately shot to No. 3 in Saturday Blitz’s transfer portal edge rusher rankings.