The recent Transfer Portal news hasn't been kind to Kalen DeBoer and Alabama.
Along with losing key players such as Isaiah Horton, Qua Russaw, James Smith, Keon Keeley, and Wilkin Formby, among others, it has been a slow start for adding the pieces the Crimson Tide needs in order to jump back into serious National Championship contention.
Alabama recently missed out on top offensive line target Jacarrius Peak, who signed with South Carolina on a visit before he could make it to Tuscaloosa.
The same thing happened with Tennessee transfer Jordan Ross, who was scheduled to make a trip to Alabama this weekend. Ross would have been a nice addition to make up for the loss of Russaw and Noah Carter in the Wolf LB room, but Ross committed to LSU before ever making it to town.
There isn't much the staff can do if a player never makes the trip, but it doesn't give Alabama fans the warm fuzzies to see top targets never even arrive at the Capstone for a visit.
And then news started to break late Friday night that one of the lone bright spots in Alabama's Transfer Portal haul thus far - NC State RB Hollywood Smothers - never actually signed with the Crimson Tide when he committed on his visit, and is now likely to take a visit to Texas this weekend to hear a pitch from the Longhorns.
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Texas is PUSHING HARD to get RB Hollywood Smothers to visit this weekend, per Tim Watts
— Recruits Bama (@RecruitsBama) January 10, 2026
The No. 2 RB in the Transfer Portal committed to Alabama earlier this week
The visit has not been confirmed yet, but it is likely Smothers will take the trip to Austin pic.twitter.com/SS0GPGPSut
There's no way to spin that: losing out on Smothers would be a portal disaster for this staff, and once again provide evidence that DeBoer and GM Courtney Morgan have their heads spinning in the Transfer Portal.
Losing Hollywood Smothers would be a disaster for Alabama
Alabama desperately needs an influx of talent in the RB room. Adding Smothers from the portal and signing 5-star EJ Crowell provides that. Losing Smothers would be a body blow for a team that is already bruised up.
DeBoer and Morgan can't afford a second straight bust in the portal. The 2025 portal class wasn't nearly good enough.
Alabama only signed seven players in the portal a year ago. Of those seven, three players are back in the portal this offseason. Only three guys from last year's haul made any sort of discernible impact in Tuscaloosa in 2025.
I'll caution by saying there's still a week left of the portal being open. Things can change fast. But right now, Alabama is once again showing that the portal is not nearly enough of a priority for this staff. Watching Indiana - a team full of transfers - demolish them in the Rose Bowl and follow that up by doing the same thing to Oregon in the Peach Bowl should have been evidence enough that a philosophical change was needed in how the roster is constructed.
Instead, Alabama looks to be left out in the cold once again. And if this portal class is as big a miss this year - with more needs on both sides of the ball - it could lead to disastrous on-field results in the fall that leave no choice but major changes in the program. Perhaps even at the top.