Alabama Crimson Tide NFL Draft Prospects

Alabama went 11-4 (7-1 SEC) in Kalen DeBoer's second season, returning to the SEC Championship Game and winning a College Football Playoff game for the first time since 2021 with a 34-24 first-round victory over Oklahoma. The year was bookended by ugly results, though, a 17-31 opening loss at Florida State and a 3-38 Rose Bowl beating from eventual national champion Indiana that looked nothing like a program used to setting the standard. The Tide finished ninth in the final polls, and that lopsided gap with the national champion sets the tone entering the fall.

The offseason answer was commitment: Alabama rewarded DeBoer with a new deal worth $87,500,000 through 2033 rather than second-guess the miserable ending. This is Year Three of the post-Saban era, and the turnover has been dramatic. Only six players remain who ever suited up for Nick Saban, so the level of achievement now rests entirely on the shoulders of the 20-8 DeBoer, who starts the season outside the preseason Top 10 for the first time since 2008.