Alabama football suffered another blow from the Transfer Portal on Saturday with starting Husky DeVonta Smith entering the NCAA's Transfer Portal. Smith is the 13th player from the 2024 Crimson Tide to enter the portal. His entry marks the second straight day Alabama has had a starter/co-starter enter the portal.
Smith started 11 of Alabama's 12 games at Husky, which is effectively the nickel corner spot in Kane Wommack's defensive scheme. Smith entered the season listed as a co-starter with true freshman Red Morgan, but later in the season, Smith was locked in as the starter with Morgan dealing with lingering injuries and some freshmen struggles.
Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones started seeing more and more playing time as the season wore on and played well at the position.
Smith is originally from the Cincinnati area and the immediate thought is that he'll end up transferring to be closer to home for his final year of eligibility.
Smith played well and was one of the leaders who helped hold everything together during the coaching transition. While it's never ideal to lose a starter in the Transfer Portal, Alabama developed a lot of depth in the secondary this season due to having to play so many guys.
A brief look at Alabama's 2025 secondary
With Bray Hubbard's emergence following Keon Sabb's injury, Alabama's starting safeties next season figure to be Hubbard and Sabb next to one another with Malachi Moore exhausting his eligibility.
At corner, a lot will depend on if Domani Jackson returns or turns pro. If he's back, he and Zabien Brown figure to be the starters, and then the Husky spot will be a competition between Jones, Morgan, and Jaylen Mbakwe.
If Jackson leaves, then Mbakwe and Jones will likely compete for the CB2 slot opposite Brown. Morgan and the loser of that would have the inside track at Husky. You also can't count out incoming 5-star freshman CB Dijon Lee, 4-star Chuck McDonald, or 4-star safety Ivan Taylor, all of whom are talented enough to play right away. Wommack showed zero fear in playing young players in the secondary in 2024.
Smith would have been a luxury to have and his leadership is invaluable. But Alabama will have a talented defensive back group next season regardless.