Alabama Football: Elijah Pritchett to Transfer

The Alabama Football team received surprising news as Elijah Pritchett has decided to enter the transfer portal. The redshirt freshman offensive tackle played in every game this season between left tackle and special teams responsibilities. Pritchett received plenty of playing time early in the season while freshman left tackle Kadyn Proctor was struggling to adapt to college football. Pritchett was ranked the fourth overall offensive tackle in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

The move is curious in the sense that Pritchett would have been one of the front runners to replace JC Latham at right tackle next season as Latham is expected to enter the NFL Draft. Right tackle will be one of the biggest questions heading into 2024 as Pritchett was the likely replacement and there are currently no tackles in the 2024 recruiting class. The name to watch will be Miles McVay, a true freshman like Proctor who's earned time late in games at right tackle and spelled Latham for a play against Ole Miss.

Alabama Football: Portal will eliminate some depth

The biggest impact the transfer portal will have on the Alabama Football program is that it will start to thin out some of the depth Alabama Football's had over the years. Players like Pritchett, Ja'Corey Brooks, Tyler Buchner, and Isaiah Hastings would've been solid depth pieces with starter upside for an Alabama Team that is expected to be one of the top teams in the country.

While it will eliminate depth it will also provide the Alabama Football team with top-tier talents to fill the roles of departed talent. We've seen Alabama replace wide receivers with Jameson Williams and Jermaine Burton, offensive linemen with Landon Dickerson and Tyler Steen, and cornerbacks with a player like Eli Ricks. The transfer portal can be a positive not a negative for the Alabama Football program if they can continue to land top talents.

News via 247 sports