The Alabama football roster visited the doctor in April for its bi-annual physical, and the results are in.
The Crimson Tide couldn’t be much healthier. After evaluating blood pressure, heart rate, and going through the infamous spring-transfer-portal-window test, Alabama’s roster passed the checkup with flying colors.
Not a single scholarship player entered the transfer portal in the 10-day period. Not one. No other school in the SEC can say that. Ole Miss led the conference with nine scholarship player portal entries in the spring.
Losing players to the portal has become commonplace in today’s college football. Maybe a program doesn’t lose starters each window, but it’s difficult to hold onto depth each portal window. Other programs might be willing to pay another team’s depth players more money than they would get as a backup at their current school. So they enter the portal. Or players seeking more playing time might enter the portal.
Yet none for Alabama did in this cycle. The deadline to submit the paperwork to enter the transfer portal arrived Friday, and a source with knowledge of transfer portal movement told AL.com none had submitted the paperwork.
That’s rare these days. So what does it mean? Here are a few takeaways.
What it says about Kalen DeBoer
If there were any kind of prevalent disbelief on the roster in DeBoer’s ability to lead the Crimson Tide, at least one player would have gone elsewhere in the spring window. At least. Probably more.
Instead, none did. That’s DeBoer and company’s investment in relationships paying off. It’s players buying what he’s selling. It’s one thing for players to say nice things about DeBoer during interviews, but their actions speak much louder than words.
Listen to this roster’s action of staying put.
What it says about NIL, athlete compensation
Alabama would not be retaining all of its talent, whether it be the starting quarterback or a third-string offensive tackle, if it was struggling to compensate athletes.
Good roster retention just doesn’t happen these days if you have bad NIL infrastructure.
That’s not to say Alabama’s rolling in all this extra cash and paying all of these players more than any other school. But this much roster retention would indicate Alabama’s ability to compensate athletes sits in a healthy spot, whether it be through future revenue sharing (expected to be made possible this fall through the House settlement) or through facilitating NIL deals.
Mix solid compensation with relationship building and development, and players are more inclined to stick around. So they did.
What it says about 2025 outlook
The spring provided a chance for each player on this roster to see what the Crimson Tide could be this season. Players would probably be less likely to stay if the outlook was bleak.
Particularly reserves. If a player who is set to be a backup didn’t think they could be part of a notable season, transferring could become more appealing. Maybe some would see a benefit to staying for development purposes, but for others, transferring could open the door to making more money and/or getting more playing time.
Yet none did from the spring roster. Specifically the backups. That bodes well for Alabama’s outlook in 2025.
Final thoughts
Don’t hand Alabama the national championship crown solely because it retained its scholarship roster from the spring, but it’s a good early piece to the puzzle. It’s worth highlighting, considering the rarity of it these days.
The Crimson Tide will surely have its depth tested throughout the season, especially if Alabama reaches the College Football Playoff and makes a deep run. So, hanging onto all of the depth it did is a good thing on face value.
How it’s of greater significance — DeBoer’s way seems to be registering with players in Tuscaloosa. We’ll find out this fall how that translates to the field.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
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