Nick Saban and the Alabama football coaching staff are still working amidst an offseason of unrest and unknowns, having recently landed 5-star edge rusher Keon Keeley, after the Berkeley Preparatory School decommitted from Notre Dame in August 2022.
Already, the Crimson Tide have lost associate defensive coordinator and safeties coach Charles Kelly to Deion Sanders Colorado football program, and some believe Pete Golding and/or Bill O’Brien could also be on the chopping block.
Keeley, a Tampa native, is the third 5-star to join Saban’s 2023 recruiting class, and is the 25th member of the Class of 2023 overall.
Traeshon Holden Joins Oregon via the Transfer Portal
Traeshon Holden has quickly made a decision on his next landing spot after announcing that he’d be leaving the Alabama football program on November 30 via the transfer portal — choosing Oregon as his next home. Holden has two years of eligibility left in his collegiate career and a redshirt if necessary.
Holden joins a Ducks squad that will likely be looking for a replacement for Pinson, Alabama product Bo Nix, who is likely to finish out his career in Eugene with an appearance in the Holiday Bowl on December 28 against North Carolina. Nix will more than likely be playing in the Senior Bowl and entering his name into the NFL draft according to Oregon head coach Dan Lanning (h/t 247Sports).
Holden could be the next Ducks signal-caller’s No. 2 option, considering Oregon’s top pass-catcher, Troy Franklin, will be returning, but Dont’e Thornton and Chase Cota will not be, taking to the transfer portal and graduation, respectively.
Nick Saban Explains Impact of Transfer Portal on Alabama Football
Nick Saban is unsurprisingly undeterred by his Crimson Tide losing depth via the transfer portal thus far in the offseason. As he explained on his “Hey Coach” radio show back on September 22, the players leaving were guys that weren’t featured anyway (transcript via AL.com).
“A lot of those middle guys left the team, our team, because they were older players that were experienced but they were backup players and they didn’t see the light in terms of they would be able to be starters,” Saban said. “So they wanted to go someplace where they could start. Well, those were experienced players that were in backup positions. Those were experienced players that were playing on special teams, so now you’re taking younger players and they’re moving up into those slots with less experience…that’s how that’s kind of impacted our team.”
On the November 3 “Hey Coach” show, he shared the same sentiment. “And they were all older players that had been in the program for a long time, that set a good example,” Saban said. “They were good leaders, and they were good players. How it affected our team was the depth of our team changed, I think, a little bit I think because at certain positions we lost some really good players that may have not have been starters, but they were really, really good contributors in a lot of ways to our team.”
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Alabama Football Adds 5-Star 2023 Prospect After Decommitting From Notre Dame