A former Alabama star comments on the portal exodus, stating, “Winning is no longer important.”
Shank, an affectionate former offensive lineman for Alabama, has observed as members of his cherished Crimson Tide have left for greener pastures. The notion of players transferring to increase their playing time is not appealing.
“Every day, players transfer,” he wrote on “X,” the former Twitter-like social media platform, on Wednesday.
That is not an issue for me. What irritates me is transferring one game out of the national championship contest rather than attempting to reschedule.
Moreover, you are assigned a coach who most recently presided over the national championship game.
“People kind of wrote us off at the start of the season, in my opinion, after seeing all the beasts return and considering the season we had,” he elaborated.
“We, so to speak, overachieved. After being briefed on the reason for former Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s retirement, it became clear that he was extremely proud of the progress he made with those players.
It deeply concerns me that they were able to put so much effort into everything they accomplished and were so near to getting it all, yet they did not even attempt to return and complete what they had begun.
We did not, precisely, abandon you in the care of an individual of no consequence. The most exasperating aspect has been the refusal to grant him a chance.
We bring in (Kalen) DeBoer, who took part in the national championship game and is therefore familiar with the caliber and standard necessary to win.
ESPN reports that as of Wednesday, freshman tackle Kadyn Proctor and freshman safety Caleb Downs were the most recent players to enter the transfer portal.
You may attribute Saban’s retirement to him. To put it simply, he is 72. His retirement had come to an end.
According to Yahoo, since Nick Saban retired last week, Downs, the younger brother of Colts wr Josh Downs as well as former Giants quarterback Gary Downs, is the 22nd Alabama player to make it through the transfer portal.
ESPN described the second-team All-American as “one of the most accomplished and coveted players who used the transfer channel this season.” He is the most valuable player Alabama lost this offseason.
CNN was informed on Friday that Alabama will appoint DeBoer as the team’s subsequent head coach, replacing Nick Saban, who led the team to over 200 victories and six national championships.
As the head coach of Washington, DeBoer, 49, is 105-12 and was named AP Coach of the Year en route to the national championship game last season.
Moving forward, he must adjust to a more competitive SEC, which will include Texas and Oklahoma, as of next season.
Alabama was preoccupied above all else with a proven winner, and DeBoer has achieved victory in every setting he has entered.
During the nine years he has served as head coach, he has accumulated 11 or more victories. During his second season at U-Dub, he led Washington to the College Football Playoff National Championship game and the Pac-12 championship.
Dan Lanning and Steve Sarkisian, two of the other candidates heavily mentioned in the Alabama coaching search, had a combined 0-5 record against DeBoer over the previous two seasons. The offenses of DeBoer were kinetic.
In scoring, the Huskies were ranked thirteenth in the nation this season or sixth in 2022. Both seasons, they scored a minimum of 36 points per contest, and consider the development of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. during DeBoer’s tenure at Washington.