Kalen DeBoer is proving he can recruit like Nick Saban at Alabama and that’s a problem for the SEC

When it became clear that Kalen DeBoer was Alabama’s pick to replace Nick Saban, there wasn’t a question about his offensive system or his ability as a play-caller on gameday. His 2023 run to the National Championship Game at Washington more than proved that, however, there was some concern that the South Dakota native with just four years as an FBS head coach could recruit at a high level in SEC country. 

Those worries were compounded by questions about Alabama’s viability as a true powerhouse in the NIL era. In the past, players had seemingly taken discounts to head to Tuscaloosa and play for Nick Saban, but would DeBoer have that same effect?

Well, whether it’s DeBoer’s efforts to stockpile resources in Alabama’s NIL war chest or his eye for talent that helped put 10 Washington Huskies in the NFL through the 2024 draft, DeBoer has kept the Crimson Tide death machine rolling. 

Georgia has assembled an impressive 20-player class for 2025, and still, despite adding three four-stars in July, Alabama’s class is even better, ranked No. 2 in the country one spot better than the Bulldogs. DeBoer has taken to SEC recruiting how Saban has taken to TV, like a duck to water. 

On Sunday, the Crimson Tide landed five-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood from Denton, Texas. Haywood is the No. 11 player in the 247Sports composite national rankings, and his commitment came one day after Alabama landed five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham the No. 1 rated player in Mississippi and the 13th ranked player in the country. 

DeBoer now has four five-star recruits committed to his 2025 class, Haywood, Cunningham, Texas quarterback Keelon Russell, and California cornerback Dijon Lee. Now that group is nowhere near on par with Saban’s 2021 class which included seven five-stars and was the No. 1 class in the country, but this summer, DeBoer has made a statement and Alabama is not taking a step back, at least not on the recruiting trail. 

We’re still months away from National Signing Day and closing in December is a lot different than getting verbal commitments in July. DeBoer likely needs to put together a strong season on the field with a roster that was hurt but not gutted by transfer portal departures following Saban’s retirement for his impressive high school class to remain intact. 

Still, for the time being, Alabama, with a brand new head coach who only has two years of Power 5 experience under his belt, is out-recruiting Kirby Smart and Georgia. Not to mention the rest of the SEC, a now 16-team conference that is currently welcoming Oklahoma and Texas to the party. 

In the 2025 national recruiting rankings, there are five SEC teams in the top 10 and that doesn’t even include Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns who currently sit at 15 recruits and are the favorites to land five-stars Michael Fasusi, Kaliq Lockett, and Michael Terry III. DeBoer stepped right into the ring with the heavyweights of college football and immediately started throwing haymakers. 

At his press conference on Day 2 of SEC Media Days, Smart was asked how the Georgia/Alabama rivalry changes with DeBoer replacing Saban, and his response, one that may have been informed by Bama’s massive recruiting weekend, was spot on. 

“I don’t expect it to change at all.”

Nick Saban is gone, but if a football program walks like Alabama, looks like Alabama, and recruits like Alabama, it’s probably still Alabama.