The transfer portal has officially opened.
The NFL has free agency and the draft while college football has the transfer portal and recruiting. And just like in the NFL, some college teams choose to build their team primarily one way while others go another route.
Alabama football and Nick Saban continue to use a mix of both to build its roster. The Crimson Tide has shown a willingness to dip into the transfer portal to fill a few spots in the lineup, but recruiting has still been the lifeblood of the program.
Alabama has lost players to the portal over the years, but few have been starters. Most have been depth pieces. That might not have dented the starting lineup as much, but depth has suffered as a result. It seems that it has become harder to convince players to stay as depth and develop when starting opportunities could be offered elsewhere.
The portal in this cycle officially opens on Dec. 4 and will close on Jan. 2. A player can still pick a school after that window closes, but he must have entered his name in the portal by then.
Also a player entering the portal means other schools are allowed to officially contact him, but it doesn’t guarantee a player will transfer. It’s rare, however, that a portal entrant returns to his school.
Here is a list of players Alabama has gained and lost in the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 season. This will be updated.
Buchner, the redshirt sophomore quarterback, entered the portal Monday, The Tuscaloosa News can confirm. But he’s doing it in a different sport. Buchner entered as a lacrosse player.
The quarterback already used up his one-time transfer in football when he joined the Crimson Tide from Notre Dame ahead of the 2023 season. He played in two games, starting against South Florida before Ty Simpson replaced him.
Transferring as a lacrosse player, a sport UA athletics doesn’t offer, allows him to be immediately eligible to play lacrosse. His football future is uncertain.
Jones-Bell entered the transfer portal the first day it opened. He wasn’t listed on the 2023 roster, though. Saban said in August that Jones-Bell had a medical issue and was going to “medical this year.” Jones-Bell spent three seasons with Alabama, playing in four games in 2022.
