Transfer portal closing and it can't come soon enough for Alabama football's competition | Goodbread
In less than 10 days, mercifully, activity in the NCAA's transfer portal will finally start slowing down. And like a kid on a rollercoaster who shouldn't have eaten state-fair food right before buckling into a terrifying white-knuckle experience, most of Alabama football's competition in this new arena is only thinking "make it stop."
They bought a ticket for the ride, and, once again, UA coach Nick Saban found a way to not just survive it, but conduct it.
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The NCAA deadline for athletes to enter the portal and still be eligible this fall is May 1, after which most any portal news of significance will be only of destinations, not departures. A year ago, college football entered a new phase after the NCAA dumped its longstanding rule requiring transfers to sit out a year, creating a frenzy of portal activity. In landing two starters, linebacker Henry To'o To'o and wide receiver Jameson Williams, Saban hit a pair of home runs -- Williams being a grand slam.
This year, Alabama has waded a bit deeper into the pool with four portal additions, and it's already clear that another major impact is pending from the newcomers. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, as a sparse-for-A-Day crowd witnessed, is a powder keg of an offensive talent. Wide receiver Jermaine Burton was UA's most consistent pass-catcher in spring drills, and cornerback Eli Ricks is in a strong position for significant playing time as well. That trio ranks as three of the top 10 transfers in the country, per 247Sports, and Saban recently added offensive tackle Tyler Steen from Vanderbilt, who brings a wealth of experience to a position of need.
And now, the Crimson Tide might squeeze in yet another just under the deadline: Louisville wide receiver Tyler Harrell visited Alabama on A-Day weekend. He's a speed merchant who's been clocked in the 4.2's, and whom Cardinals coach Scott Satterfield described last summer as "the fastest player I've ever timed in my career." The Miami native is reportedly considering the hometown Hurricanes as well, so it's premature to pencil him as Alabama's fifth portal addition. But after he averaged a stunning 29 yards per catch with six touchdowns at Louisville last year, it's not premature to suggest he'll make an impact wherever he lands.
Meanwhile, schools elsewhere are much busier in the portal than Saban. Plenty of programs have acquired more transfers than Alabama, and plenty have lost fewer. Former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has been a portal monster as Ole Miss head coach, acquiring 14 players, including a potential starting quarterback in Jaxson Dart. On the loss ledger, at last count, more than a dozen former UA players have found new schools, with several others still in the portal. Most recently, reserve defensive lineman Stephon Wynn decided to look elsewhere.
But as last season showed, success in the portal isn't about numbers. It's about net impact. Saban is cherry-picking talented, experienced help at key positions that can lift Alabama's level of play in a way that its exiting players, mostly young reserves, hadn't.
The coach warned to all this.
About a year ago, he suggested that the combination of the portal and immediate transfer eligibility might only make the rich richer, referring to college football's top-tier programs, and his two additions in 2021 suggest he was right.
Now, at least four more are poised to affirm that again this fall.
Reach Chase Goodbread @cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nick Saban has cherry-picked transfer portal to make Alabama football stronger
