Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football had taken hit after hit to open the winter Transfer Portal window, but they punched back on Tuesday with a couple of big portal moments.
There was also going to be more subtraction than addition in the portal or Alabama. The Crimson Tide had a full roster following its signing class, and needed to purge a few roster spots to get under the scholarship limit.
So while seeing 15 Alabama players enter the portal could feel like a shock, the majority of the entries to date have mostly been depth pieces and not guys who were likely to be serious contributors to next season's team.
RB Justice Haynes was a co-starter with Jam Miller, but there's plenty of depth behind him with Miller expected back as well as Richard Young, Daniel Hill, and Kevin Riley. The Tide also signed the No. 2 RB in the 2025 class, AK Dear.
DeVonta Smith was a starter for most of the season, so his decision to transfer to Notre Dame came as a bit of a shock, but the Tide has a lot of young talent in the secondary already on campus and others on their way.
The first truly shocking development happened yesterday with Jaylen Mbakwe entering the portal, enticed by seven-figure offers elsewhere. But the roster rallied around the in-state, former 5-star, and Mbakwe announced his decision to stay in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday.
Mbakwe became the second player DeBoer and the coaching staff successfully coaxed out of the portal, joining tight end Danny Lewis Jr., who figures to have a substantial role on next season's team with CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts exhausting their eligibility.
Sometimes the best moves you can make with your roster is re-recruiting your own guys. Mbakwe and Lewis are both prime examples of that.
But there will be opportunities out there for Alabama to upgrade the roster. But they won't just take anyone. DeBoer isn't building the roster year-by-year with mass quantities of portal guys like Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, or like what Hugh Freeze is trying to do at Auburn.
DeBoer and staff are looking for the right guys to fit the system and for strategic upgrades at certain positions. The staff believes they found that with their first portal commitment on Tuesday night.
Florida DL Kelby Collins, an Alabama native, signed with the Crimson Tide. Collins had a strong freshman season before changing positions and not seeing as much action as a sophomore in Gainesville.
Collins will be a Bandit in Kane Wommack's system and a replacement for departing senior Jah-Marien Latham. Collins will be even more important if LT Overton chooses to enter the NFL Draft. If Overton returns, he and Collins will be a formidable duo at the position.
Collins was the first, but won't be the last portal addition for the Tide. They'll keep adding to the roster, and more commitments are to come. Even though the roster won't be built via the portal, it was still nice to see Alabama land a counter punch on Tuesday.