Austin Mack is returning to Alabama for 2026

[davefrat]

Less competition in HS recruiting now. Now they let us sign them, work with them for a year or two, and then swoop in and give them a big deal to transfer when they're ready to contribute.

It'll be a couple years to figure it all of this out but could turn out that emphasis on HS recruiting will end up killing your program. Too many resources consumed recruiting and coaching players just to see them take their talents elsewhere. Those teams that find the right balance will do well and finding the right balance each year will be a total crap shoot.

Everthing that made college football great is rapidly coming to an end.

As someone else mentioned, in the NFL you don’t build through the draft.

You build the team in free agency and supplement your roster every year with a handful of draft picks.

Seems that’s what the future is for CFB.

And if you think about it, IF you could build an NFL roster with only drafted players even if they were all first rounders they probably wouldn’t be as good as a team full of veteran players, regardless where those veterans were initially drafted.

The portal is the future of roster building, like it or not.

Master the portal or get left behind.

As for all the “college football is dead to me” talk, I suspect that if Bama was dominating the portal and dominating on the field there’d be a lot fewer people crowing about CFB being dead to them regardless of how the portal might be ravaging other teams.

 

[BamaMoon]

The upside is that he’s been in CKD system for three years. The downside is that he hasn’t seen the field much in those three years. Question is how much will Keelon develop between now and the end of August?

I'm a little surprised. There was talk he might portal to Mich. St. with Reece.

But, this is probably a good thing for the QB room and especially for Russell.

They'll get all the snaps next spring.

I expect Russell to win the battle simply because he has so much upside.

FWIW, Someone I trust told me we will likely know who the starter is coming out of Spring practice.

I hope that is correct so whoever wins the battle can get all the snaps with the 1st team in the fall.

 

[CB4]

I'm a little surprised. There was talk he might portal to Mich. St. with Reece.

But, this is probably a good thing for the QB room and especially for Russell.

They'll get all the snaps next spring.

I expect Russell to win the battle simply because he has so much upside.

FWIW, Someone I trust told me we will likely know who the starter is coming out of Spring practice.

I hope that is correct so whoever wins the battle can get all the snaps with the 1st team in the fall.

You mean Nick Sheridan? Tommy Rees is currently the OC for the Cleveland Browns.

 

[BamaMoon]

You mean Nick Sheridan? Tommy Rees is currently the OC for the Cleveland Browns.

Yes, sorry. Thanks!

 

[SkullDuckery]

I do not know because I have not seen much of Keelon playing. I hear he is quite talented. I expect (and hope for) a fierce competituion between them in spring and especially next summer.

Just from the brief glimpses we have gotten…he’s special.

 

[BamaHoopsBoi]

This offseason will be interesting. Definitely did not foresee Mack staying with us. But who knows? Maybe he is legit, he deserves his chance.