While there are supposedly rules in place to prevent this, it’s rare in college football that a player enters the transfer portal without already knowing they have at least one interested team. Tampering is the way of the transfer portal era, and that’s especially true for high-profile quarterbacks.
Still, even with rampant tampering going on across the sport, it’s rare that a real tampering accusation comes to light. However, Billy Embody, who covers Ole Miss and SMU for On3.com, levied a significant one against Alabama, claiming (not necessarily reporting) that Kalen DeBoer’s program attempted to lure SMU QB Kevin Jennings to Tuscaloosa this offseason.
Alabama tried to recruit Kevin Jennings into the transfer portal to take over for Milroe, but sure, Ty Simpson deserves a notable mention over Kevin Jennings. https://t.co/rZGdYGMNLZ
— Billy Embody (@BillyEmbody) June 6, 2025
Tampering claim links Crimson Tide to SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings
The post was in response to On3’s own graphic of the notable quarterbacks heading to the Manning Passing Academy, which recognized Ty Simpson and not Jennings, the third-team All-ACC quarterback who led the Mustangs to the College Football Playoff.
After snatching away the starting job from Preston Stone early in the year, Jennings had a remarkable redshirt sophomore season, throwing for 3,245 yards and 23 touchdowns with another five scores on the ground. However, after his CFP catastrophe, it’s not likely that DeBoer and his staff were begging Jennings to depart Dallas.
Should Alabama have been interested in Kevin Jennings?
On the road in Happy Valley for the first round of the CFP, Jennings threw interceptions, including two pick-sixes in SMU’s 38-10 blowout loss to Penn State. The young QB appeared completely overwhelmed by the moment and Penn State’s elite defensive line, led by eventual No. 3 overall NFL Draft pick and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Abdul Carter.
At his best, Jennings is an electrifying playmaker, creating outside the structure of the offense with his arm and his legs to hunt explosives. At his worst, he’s a poor decision-maker unable to dissect a defense from the pocket and unwilling to take what the defense gives him. He’s more creative than Jalen Milroe as a thrower, but less effective as a runner, while creating a similar roller-coaster type of feel to his game and season.
On the other hand, Ty Simpson is… a complete unknown. He’s attempted just 50 career passes across three seasons in Tuscaloosa with no touchdowns and no interceptions. The former five-star has all the pedigree of a future difference-maker, but none of the experience. Though it’s just Year 2, DeBoer must lead the Crimson Tide to the CFP in 2025, or, considering the lofty expectations at Alabama, he could be gone.
With so much pressure, it’s hard to feel comfortable handing the ball to a first-time starter and trusting that everything will be alright. For all his flaws, at least Jennings has already led a team there. 11 wins in the ACC is a far cry from 11 wins in the SEC, but if Embody’s claim is true that Alabama did in fact attempt to lure Jennings from SMU, it would have made for a more interesting quarterback competition, and given DeBoer a much safer backup plan for whichever QB he sent out as his Week 1 starter.