Kalen DeBoer Faces Scathing Backlash for Destroying Nick Saban’s Legacy With Embarrassing Recruitment Strategy

Is Kalen DeBoer the wrecking ball in Alabama Crimson Tide’s legacy? Inheriting Nick Saban’s legacy was no joke, but DeBoer took on the challenge headfirst. Right from his first season at the Crimson Tide, DeBoer aims to take it to the house. For this, the recruitment process is already underway. Keeping up with the Bama recruitment pride, DeBoer is already making waves in the recruitment market. However, there is just one difference.

Kalen DeBoer’s recruitment bar for the players is set much lower than Nick Saban’s. Three-star athletes who had no chance of getting into Alabama in Nick Saban’s time, like London Simmons, are flaunting their commitment to the Crimson Tide. It is one of the few things that is stirring the pot in the Bama community, as 104.5 ESPN’s Matt Moscona puts it. The host did not mince his words as he called out DeBoer’s “standard is lower,” mainly because he is “ushering in three stars left and right.”

A major jab at DeBoer’s recruiting reputation. His predecessor, Nick Saban, also known as the greatest head coach in college football, had set the bar at only the finest of five-star players and nothing less than that. The Nick-tater, as Moscona calls it, was a formidable power in the recruiting market. “If you are in a high four-star, a top 100 player, you do not apply, right?” Moscona said sarcastically, recalling Saban’s time.

And it is not just Moscona’s words; it is Nick Saban’s eye for fine talent that speaks volumes. The recruitments made by Saban, like Bryce Young, Tua Tagovailova, Amari Cooper 4, Cyrus Kouandijo, Julio Jones, and more, make up the list. Young was the top QB prospect in the country, while Jones was the No. 1 WR across the country.

Koundijo was a consensus five-star prospect, while Cooper and Tagovailova were dominating four-star powers in the recruitment market then. All of them are already the finest players on their current NFL teams. Now, are Kalen DeBoer’s prospects looking as promising as theirs?

Kalen DeBoer’s 2025 recruitment class

As Chase Goodbread of Tuscaloosa News puts it, “It’s early yet to size up Kalen DeBoer and his staff as recruiters.” Agreed that DeBoer and Co. had very little time to assemble a lineup they could call their own. Yet, they have leveraged the Alabama name to its best and managed to secure a good volume of players. The quality is there, while the quantity will only be decided once the season begins.

Per the consensus opinion on DeBoer’s 2024 recruiting class, however, it is still being debated whether he would get a spot among the top 5 recruiting classes of the year. DeBoer has made some commendable recruits, like five-star WR Ryan Williams, even though Nick Saban has just retired. This was followed by conglomerating the other 10 recruits who are ranked in the nation’s top 100 for 2024. The groundwork looks good. All that is left to see is whether it will hold up in the regular season or not.