Nick Saban might be gone, but Kalen DeBoer is still held to that exact standard—and he will be until he pulls off some big playoff wins or brings a National Championship to Tuscaloosa.
While he has many milestones to chase with the bar set unbelievably high, a recruiting class that is barely making the Top 50 is indefensible. Alabama Crimson Tide’s Class of 2027 ranks No. 47 nationally, per 247 Sports’ Composite rankings.
For a program reputed enough to be a generational blue-blood, a recruiting class ranked this low is a crying shame.
Kalen DeBoer Defends Recruiting Efforts
GettyKalen DeBoer reiterates his plan for recruiting in 2027 after critics rip him for smaller Class of 2027.
DeBoer, however, completely disagrees. Instead, the Bama head coach feels that the staff and himself are doing an excellent job in recruiting and retaining the old players.
“I feel we have the staff that has the ability,” DeBoer said Thursday on The Martin Houston Show.
“We’ve shown that the last couple years. We can recruit with the best of them. Our program is as attractive as any. We’re coming off a playoff run this year. Recruiting off of that is really easier than what we did before, when there was second-guessing and questionable and things like that. We’re continuing to pave our way. Just continue to keep focused on ourselves. That’s the way you’ve got to do it. Don’t get caught up in what’s going on outside. Stick to the plan and keep executing.”
Interestingtly, DeBoer has some solid stats backing up his ‘don’t panic yet’ speech.
Alabama is Prepared, Even Without Big Recruiting Class
GettyKalen DeBoer reiterates his plan for recruiting in 2027 after critics rip him for smaller Class of 2027.
The last two High School signing classes by Alabama ranked #2 and #3 nationally by On3, and of those 47 players, 46 are still on the roster. In addition, of the 44 players projected on Alabama’s two deep roster at Ourlads.com, 37 have eligibility beyond this season.
They have the players they need to make a menacing roster, even if they’re not getting them out of high school. Even GM Courtney Morgan, alongside DeBoer, have explained over and over that their upcoming recruiting classes might be small becuase their primary focus is on retaining the talent they already have.
Plus, Tide’s current class is loaded and young. They have highly recruited players who will play massive roles as second and third year players in 2026. While every other program is chasing new talent, DeBoer wants to make a bet on developing the talent they already have.
“We want to keep developing these guys, keep working with what we have, and hopefully our retention is what it is to where you get these older teams at some point and get these guys who play a lot of snaps, and not just a lot of snaps but a lot of snaps together,” DeBoer added.
“That’s probably a lot of it right there.”
It might not be the road other programs are taking right now, but it seems a plan worth giving a shot. How well the Crimson Tide play in the 2026 season will decide whether it worked out. Agreed that it is miles away from what Saban did, but DeBoer is ushering in his own era, and this new plan sounds like the foundation of it.
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