It’s no secret that Alabama’s steel grip on the recruiting rankings has loosened quite a bit over the past several years since the topic of player compensation has been implemented throughout college football. Especially now with Kalen DeBoer taking over the the program, the narrative surrounding the program was that the “hometown discount” to play for Nick Saban had eroded with the Crimson Tide unable to pay up to compete at a high level.
Those concerns and criticisms only heightened when looking at Alabama’s incoming recruiting class which currently sits at 14 commits which is the second fewest in the SEC.
However, that number appears to be less of an uncontrollable outcome and much more of an intention according to Alabama’s general manager Courtney Morgan.
Morgan appeared on “Hey Coach” with Chris Stewart this week where he quickly rebuffed the statement that Alabama is incapable of paying top talent. In fact it’s more so that the program is more cautious than anything else.
“I think there is a narrative created that Alabama doesn’t want to play players and doesn’t have money,” Morgan said. “That is not what it is. It is; we are very cautious and risk-averse.”
When considering that in today’s day in age a program can invest millions of dollars into a recruit, who can walk out the door after one year without even playing a true snap is a harsh reality several programs face. Alabama is looking to avoid those encounters, and Morgan believes that DeBoer has an eye for those scenarios and can cross those players off quickly.
“I have heard coach DeBoer say many times, ‘when a young man comes in on a recruiting visit, if money is the first thing they bring up, then he knows really quickly that they are not a fit for Alabama.'”
Another factor in weighing into the Crimson Tide’s slimmer 2027 class are the additions DeBoer and crew have made through the transfer portal as well as retaining a solid number of juniors and under classmen to bolster the roster.
“Won’t be a big group this fall,” DeBoer said back in May during SEC spring meetings. “I think it will be much less than what we’ve had the last two seasons, but a lot of that is because we have retained well and brought in a group of transfers and don’t have many seniors.”
Alabama currently has five seniors, including redshirts, who are expected to play major snaps this fall and all are coming on the defensive side of the ball.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
