Nick Saban was disappointed by only one player deciding to transfer this year
Alabama football lost 18 players to the transfer portal ahead of the 2023 season. One of those players made a decision Nick Saban doesn't understand.
"I'm not mentioning any names, but there's only like one player I was really like disappointed that the guy didn't stay here and I couldn't understand why he was leaving," Saban said.
Saban, speaking in the middle of the last week of fall camp, had been asked about how the transfer portal has affected his ability to retain and develop some of the players he had recruited at wide receiver.
Saban took his answer in a different direction and spoke more generally about the portal than just one position.
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"All the rest of them, they would have contributed if they stayed and had the right attitude, but it's their choice," Saban said. "What we have an opportunity to do when guys leave, we have an opportunity to replace them too."
Most of the players who left this offseason had been serving in reserve roles with the Crimson Tide. JoJo Earle, Javion Cohen and Traeshon Holden were some of the few players who had seen more playing time at one point or another who departed in the offseason.
Meanwhile, Alabama went and added five players via the portal in tight end CJ Dippre (Maryland), linebacker Trez Marshall (Georgia), quarterback Tyler Buchner (Notre Dame), cornerback Trey Amos (Louisiana) and safety Jaylen Key (UAB).
"This is not for everybody," Saban said. "People who want to be here, want to do the best they can, develop value for their future and who they are as a person, what kind of requirements we have for them academically so they can develop their career on the field, and what we're going to try to do to develop them on the field."
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: One player leaving in transfer portal disappointed Nick Saban
