With one of the youngest cores in college football, Kalen DeBoer and Alabama aren't treating 2026 like a waiting room. Instead, the program is treating this inevitability approach as a launching point this fall.
This method seems like a foreign concept to most in this day and age of collegiate sports, especially with NIL and the Transfer Portal becoming major factors in how teams are constructed nowadays. For what it's worth, even Crimson Tide fans are unfamiliar and have expressed concern with the quality of this roster, due the simple fact that Alabama is only projected to have seven seniors in the entirety of the program.
Even with all those parameters being what they are, former Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III believes this scenario could still end up being a good thing for the program moving forward. Keenan made this more than clear when being asked at the Senior Bowl in Mobile by reporters about which young defensive talents the fanbase should have their sights on this fall.
"Of course, London Simmons, Isaia Faga, Jeremiah Beaman, Keenan said. "These are guys that can always make an impact, like QB Reese, Keon Sabb, guys like that. Of course, Yhonzae Pierre, Dijon Lee, I could keep going on and on... Those guys definitely gonna be here one day."
London Simmons, Isaia Faga, and Jeremiah Beaman highlight potential Alabama breakout stars
Keenan, in my opinion, poses a good case with all of these candidates listed. I say this because these were all underclassmen, along with rising redshirt senior Keon Sabb, who had their individual numbers called countless times for Alabama in 2025.
Simmons, the rising sophomore defensive tackle, worked his way into Kane Wommack's defensive rotation as a true freshman last fall when he stepped in for Keenan in his absence last fall. During that time, Simmons made the most of his opportunities with 19 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks through 15 games. The 6-foot-5, 303-pounder is now the prime candidate to fill Keenan's void in Alabama's defense this fall.
Meanwhile, Faga also pitched in as a rotational piece and is expected to have an expanded role in 2026. This expectation comes after the 6-foot-2, 296-pounder reeled in 0.5 tackles for loss, along with one quarterback hurry during limited action in his redshirt freshman campaign.
Beamen is also in line to be a major contributor upfront after recording one QB hurry against Florida State, before having his second season ended with a serious knee injury in practice during the second week of the season. The 6-foot-4, 314-pound redshirt sophomore's ability to pick up where he left off could also pay dividends for Alabama's defensive front seven this year as well.
Many are also intrigued with Reese after he flashed in garbage-time opportunities by picking up six tackles and returning one forced fumble for 21 yards during the four games he was unleashed last season. He, too, should have the opportunity to see more meaningful snaps with the Crimson Tide losing its top three off-ball linebackers.
As for Sabb, Pierre, and Lee, Alabama fans have already grown accustomed to their high level of play, with all three players previously emerging as fixtures in the Crimson Tide defense in the past. DeBoer, like Keenan, also thinks that the team's youth can be used to their advantage. The third-year Tide coach made this apparent when doubling down on Kennan III's viewpoint to reporters post practice in Mobile this week.
"A lots been made about an older team," DeBoer said. "And I didn't do the study; the study was sent to me, but it showed just how young we were as a football team. That probably led to some of the inconsistencies we had at times, especially at the end of the year when we were facing the most mature teams, the best teams in the country. But, it is what it is; you would always love to get some upperclassmen whenever that shows up. But some position groups work in that way, some don't, depending on what you already have in your program. And so, we just wanna take the best players, the ones that fit, the ones that were hungry, the ones that really wanted to be here and be a part of it. And I think we did that, so again, we're probably younger again. That's something we've gotta use as an edge and make kind of our thing. Let's continue to grow up faster."
All in all, with this mindset, DeBoer and Alabama won't have much luxury given to them by Crimson Tide fans and others on the outside looking in due to the script A on their helmets and the fact that in past instances where the world saw young players emerge to still get the job done. With that being said, it'll be interesting to see just how Simmons, Faga, Beamen, Reese, and countless other underclassmen on the Crimson Tide roster step up to the plate in 2026.