Despite the struggles on the recruiting trail during the 2027 recruiting cycle, Kalen DeBoer emphatically answered the question of his recruiting chops during his first two cycles as Alabama's head coach.
The biggest question about DeBoer when he was hired away by Alabama from Washington was whether or not he could recruit with the big boys in the SEC. He answered that with a resounding yes by signing back-to-back Top 5 classes in both 2025 and 2026.
But even the best coaches have misses from time to time in recruiting. Those misses end up producing some significant what-ifs.
Here are five of the biggest from DeBoer's tenure in Tuscaloosa so far.
5 significant "what-ifs" that have helped definie Kalen DeBoer's Alabama tenure
5. What if Justice Haynes never transferred?
Justice Haynes flashed during his two seasons at Alabama, producing 6.7 yards per carry as a freshman and 5.7 yards per carry as a sophomore, but after a second season in which he only received 79 carries, Haynes entered the Transfer Portal.
He wound up at Michigan and, despite suffering a season-ending injury after seven games, was a revelation for the Wolverines. He produced 857 yards and 10 touchdowns on 7.1 yards per carry last season.
Haynes ultimately ended up back in the portal this offseason and is now at Georgia Tech, but it's fair to question whether he could have been the answer Alabama needed at RB last season. He would have helped, no doubt, but with the Crimson Tide's offensive line struggles, he probably couldn't have flipped the script all by himself.
4. What if Hollywood Smothers didn't flip to Texas?
This one could creep up the list further depending on how well Smothers performs at Texas and what happens to Alabama's running game this year. Smothers was the big Transfer Portal splash the Crimson Tide needed to make to improve the running game, but he flipped to the Longhorns on a visit to Austin and left Alabama out in the cold.
Smothers was a big-play threat every time he touched the ball for NC State, and he'll likely be the same kind of player for Texas. Had he decided to stick it out in Tuscaloosa, a lot of the question marks about the Tide's running game heading into this season would have been answered already.
3. What if DeBoer never reeled Ryan Coleman-Williams back into the boat?
Regardless of how DeBoer's tenure goes from here, he'll never sign a more important recruit than Ryan Coleman-Williams. Coleman-Williams was to DeBoer what Julio Jones was to Nick Saban.
DeBoer needed a win to stop the bleeding in recruiting and in the Transfer Portal after landing the Alabama job. He needed to show that he could recruit, and he needed a player to show that Alabama was still the place to be.
The 5-star from Saraland was an answered prayer at the perfect time.
2. What if Caleb Downs never left Alabama?
Alabama hasn't had any issues finding and developing talent in the secondary during the DeBoer era, but there was no transfer after Saban retired - or since then - that stung as badly as Caleb Downs' decision to enter the portal after his freshman season with the Crimson Tide.
Downs came to Alabama to play for the GOAT and opened up his options following Saban's retirement. He was immediately one of the best defenders in college football as a freshman and played an integral part in the Crimson Tide's 2023 SEC Championship.
Things turned out well for Downs, who went on to help Ohio State win the National Championship in 2024 before becoming a first-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2026 draft. He probably doesn't swing a title for Bama, but he's still a player that Alabama fans wish would have finished his collegiate career wearing crimson.
1. What if DeBoer made Julian Sayin a priority?
5-star QB Julian Sayin signed and enrolled at Alabama for Rose Bowl practices in December of 2023. Following Saban's retirement, a meeting with DeBoer led to Sayin jumping into the Transfer Portal, where he ended up at Ohio State. After spending his true freshman season as a reserve on the Buckeyes' national title squad, Sayin took over the starting role and had a tremendous season in 2025.
DeBoer chose to prioritize Austin Mack instead, whom he had recruited to Washington. Whether that was the correct choice remains to be seen. Sayin likely wouldn't have beaten out Ty Simpson for the starting job last season, and he'd be looking to take the job this year instead.
If Sayin was in Tuscaloosa, Mack probably isn't. Keelon Russell might not be, either, with another talented young QB to compete against.
Mack and/or Russell's performance this season will go a long way toward determining whether or not DeBoer made the smart decision.
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