Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football got more good news on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday when veteran nose tackle Tim Keenan III announced he would be returning to the Crimson Tide for his final season of eligibility in 2025.
Tim Keenan will return to Alabama in 2025. pic.twitter.com/2OTNLONV7j
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) January 4, 2025
Keenan made the announcement via his Instagram account, in part saying his desire to win a national championship and not going out with the disappointment of 2024 as the impetus for his return to Alabama next season.
"I want to apologize for how things ended this season," Keenan said in the statement. "I never wanted to go out like that... so what's why I'm not."
"When I committed to Alabama my goal was to win a National Championship and that's what I will work every single day to do."
Kane Wommack's defense got a big boost earlier in the week when LT Overton unexpectedly announced his decision to return to the Crimson Tide in 2025. Keenan's return is arguably even more important with Alabama's lack of experienced depth on the interior of the defensive line.
Keenan was projected as a late round draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and will have a chance to seriously improve his stock with one final season in Tuscaloosa. Keenan finished his redshirt junior season with 36 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
More experienced depth needed on the defensive line for Alabama
Alongside defensive tackle James Smith, Alabama will have a formidable starting duo up front with Keenan's return. However, depth is still a concern for the Crimson Tide. Alabama lost Jeheim Oatis, Damon Payne, and Hunter Osborne in the Transfer Portal and saw Tim Smith exhaust his eligibility.
Behind Keenan and Smith are young, unproven players like Jeremiah Beaman and Edric Hill. Alabama signed two defensive tackles in the 2025 recruiting class, 3-star London Simmons and JUCO transfer Steve Mboumoua.
Alabama will hope to see big steps forward from Beaman and Hill as well as JUCO transfer Mboumoua being ready to play immediately. But depth on the defensive line is something you can never truly have enough of.
With the Transfer Portal closing for most teams in the next few days, it might be the spring cycle before we see Alabama make a move at defensive tackle. But even with the return of Keenan, Alabama has to look at adding quality depth up front with experienced guys.
There's a path to a lot of playing time for a transfer as Alabama, like every team, rotates a lot up front to keep bodies fresh. So even if the potential portal addition wouldn't be considered a "starter", there will still be plenty of snaps available.