Kalen DeBoer pleased with progress in recruiting to the ‘new Alabama’

Kalen DeBoer never sees an endpoint, a mindset that allows him to seek out what’s next and what’s needed for improvement. But he acknowledges he’s pleased with the progress he has seen in Alabama’s recruiting over the past few months.

The improvements were on display during the final night of Alabama’s June recruiting period when four-star offensive lineman Micah DeBose announced his commitment during a dinner with visiting families, current players and coaches.

The moment was captured by redshirt freshman offensive lineman Roq Montgomery and later surfaced on social media.

Reaction to Micah DeBose committing to Alabama.

🎥: Roq Montgomery IG live pic.twitter.com/CJtMvFnWAI

— TC Vidz (@VidzTc) June 23, 2024

The clip encapsulates the last several months of Alabama recruiting — social media-driven, high energy and a group effort geared toward continuing the incredibly high standard set by Nick Saban.

There’s still a long way to go until the early signing period in December, but Alabama’s recruiting marks are in a familiar place.

The Crimson Tide have the No. 2 class in the nation in the 247Sports Composite. They have commitments from three five-stars and 14 four-stars, and their average player rating of 94.19 is the best in the country.

It has been a strong start for a head coach who is new to the region — and new to the competitive landscape of SEC recruiting.

“We did a really good job of getting guys to campus multiple times,” DeBoer said. “It wasn’t just about those official visits, it was a combination of everything, the work that had been done all through the spring, the spring recruiting and then doing a really good job of having official visits that were organized. Just great effort on building relationships with prospects, their parents and their families.”

Not only did DeBoer and his staff have to follow Saban — the greatest recruiting head coach of all time — but they had to make up ground with Class of 2025 prospects since they didn’t take over until Jan. 12. DeBoer surrounded himself with assistants familiar with the South, and the staff immediately got to work to identify priority targets. A few previous commitments moved on to other programs, but mostly there was interest in experiencing the “new Alabama” under DeBoer. In March, new general manager Courtney Morgan estimated that more than 70 recruits visited campus in a single day.

What a day to be at @AlabamaFTBL ! Over 70 recruits at practice today! RTR🐘 pic.twitter.com/GhL9bB11xl

— Courtney Morgan (@PlayerProMorgan) March 8, 2024

Players had visited Alabama before, but it was important for the prospects to learn as much as possible about the new regime.

“You want them to get all their questions answered,” DeBoer said. “It’s all the different areas — the academic piece, how the strength program works, the training room staff, all the way around the program. But what you really want them to feel is a connection with our staff and then seeing our players and being around them.”

Four-star linebacker Abduall Sanders, a Southern California native, had a previous relationship with DeBoer from the coach’s time at Washington. Sanders was re-offered as an Alabama prospect in January and took multiple unofficial visits before committing in March.

“It’s just the hospitality,” Sanders said about the experience of being recruited by DeBoer. “I went out there and just how he treated me. … They had a great plan for me football-wise, got to talk to the team chaplain. It’s the little things they do that made me feel wanted. But they also said even though they want me, they’re going to stay on me so I can be great.

“There’s this stigma of Saban (leaving) and DeBoer only having a few years (at Washington), but you look and everywhere he’s gone, he’s won. When you get to Alabama and watch how they practiced, how they carried themselves, how organized it was — it’s the same formula for winning.”

Alabama’s 2025 recruiting class created momentum with six commitments in March, setting up the crucial June period that includes official visits and camps that allow coaches to evaluate prospects.

The new staff leaned heavily into social media activity to generate interest and created a hashtag to serve as a theme for the program: #ColdSummer. It’s a play on a song by recording artist, Fabolous, with the opening line: “How they turn a top dog to an underdog?” — alluding to the outside perception that recruiting would take a dip post-Saban.

🥶🥶🥶#RollTide pic.twitter.com/F2dfoeg1lg

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) May 31, 2024

“I think it’s a big deal,” DeBoer said of Alabama’s social media use. “Not just what the average fan (sees), but what the recruits and prospects that we’re looking at — what they like and what’s attractive to them. Just trying to showcase our program, also to get our message out and them to understand the culture we’re trying to build here and what all our resources are and who the people that work here are.”

DeBoer credits the program’s off-field staffers — many of whom were holdovers from the Saban era — for assisting in every part of the football operation.

“They’ve been extremely critical with everything,” he said. “From the retention of our team. Going all the way back to January, we would not be in the place we’re at if it wasn’t for all of their efforts. Their patience has been amazing as we are adapting. Their information to get us to be more efficient, and maybe just understanding how things had been done and the reasons for those actions.”

It didn’t take long for some of DeBoer’s key hires — most notably Morgan, player personnel directors Eron Hodges and Jerret McElwain and director of recruiting strategy Jatavis Sanders — to get acclimated to their new surroundings, either.

“The meshing of our staff with those that were here and those that have come in has been really fun to see,” DeBoer said. “You know, I trusted some people here with who they thought (would be good fits), and I think overall we did a really good job of building this staff with the right people. They’re experts in their areas but also just great human beings.”

The past several months have been an all-hands-on-deck effort on two fronts: trying to attract the top high school talent for 2025 and beyond while also building relationships with the current team. Ten players departed following Saban’s retirement but only a handful left after spring practice — and none were key contributors on last season’s team.

The players who opted to stay are the ones selling the program to high school prospects.

“One of the greatest things I think that’s happened is our players are some of our best recruiters,” DeBoer said. “And it’s not just one or two guys, it’s the entire team taking some extra time with the guys that are coming to see us and sharing. They’re sharing what they’re feeling and how it’s been going here the last five or months.”

It was important for the June visitors to spend time with the current players — that is a crucial part of every official visit — but the staff also created a plan for prospects to explore an area of interest off the field. Abduall Sanders, who plans to major in journalism, met with top personnel at the Crimson Tide Sports Network.

“They introduced me to one of the top guys in radio,” Sanders said. “We talked for a while. He was a pretty cool guy and he just gave me a lot of knowledge on radio, podcasting and how to build your name up to a guy like Stephen A. Smith, etc. That was cool.”

The new staff also added a player-parent panel in which current team members answered questions about the program in an open forum. Recruits and their families were able to hear perspectives from players of different standings, from veterans to transfers to early enrollees.

“Our coaches have done a really good job with pushing us and mostly just trying to get us passionate for each other and to have continuous improvement,” quarterback Jalen Milroe said. “From a team standpoint, I’m excited, we have a family environment here.”

Man I’m so happy that recruits and their families are still believing in what we have going on here in Tuscaloosa after all the changes. This year will be special!! 🐘

— 🥀Devonta Smith🥀 (@Prince_Tay_) June 26, 2024

There will be more tweaks as DeBoer continues to find his way, but his vision for what he hopes to build is generating plenty of excitement inside and outside of facility walls.

“There’s got to be a good balance between being at work and still having fun,” DeBoer said. “I think that right now, I have a lot of trust in our guys that they understand that the work is what the work is and that they’re gonna continue to do it. And they’re doing an awesome job of holding each other accountable to that.

“That allows you to be able to enjoy the moments that come along because everyone’s doing their part. … I make sure that I always show my appreciation because they’ve been really critical as they share the culture, what’s happening within our walls and within our team with the guys that have been coming on campus and trying to figure out if this is where they want to be or not.”

(Photo: Gary Cosby Jr. / Tuscaloosa News / USA Today Network)