Alabama Recruits Not Concerned with HC Kalen DeBoer Criticism

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

When you’re the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, people are going to jump down your throat.

And with current coach Kalen DeBoer, he’s taken more punches in the media than he’s ever had to take, and still manages to walk onto the podium at SEC Media Day with his trademark smile.

You’ve heard it all.

“Buy him out.”

“He can’t hang in the SEC.”

“He can’t recruit.”

“There’s no way he can follow Saban’s legacy.”

And ESPN’s commentator Paul Finebaum had one of the most impactful statements out of Media Day.

“He doesn’t have to do anything crazy but he does need to say, ‘We’re going to win a national championship.’ Why can’t he say that? Maybe because he doesn’t believe it,” he told The Next Round.

Finebaum was referring to the time on SEC Media Day when DeBoer was asked about needing to win a championship to define his time in Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer flashed a smile and told the media, “I certainly know that’s an important part of what’s happened in the program,” DeBoer said. “I wouldn’t doubt if that’s the case.”

Well the players that DeBoer personally recruited seem to think differently than Finebaum. Adam Gorney of Rivals spoke to several Alabama recruits over the past month, and they gave their future coach the seal of approval.

“Coach DeBoer is a great coach and leader of men,” said 2027 quarterback Trent Seaborn. “He’s building the team and culture the right way, filling the building with people who want to be at Alabama because they want to be coached hard, compete every day, put in the work and win a national championship.”

Running back commit Tai Phillips seemed to echo that statement by telling Rivals, “Coach DeBoer is proving everyone wrong no matter who it is and that’s what I love about him. I chose Alabama because of the challenge and the opportunity I can create for myself. I’m a competitor. I couldn’t turn down this opportunity.”

Currently, DeBoer is just a victim of a small recruiting class – something that even he acknowledged would be the case for 2027.

While Alabama was missing out on top recruits, people were pointing to Tuscaloosa and wondering if the Tide lost their fastball.

Yet, if you look at DeBoer’s first two seasons as coach, he’s brought in two consecutive top-10 recruiting classes, including the third-best class in 2025.

Since then, only one player from both classes transferred out.

When college football zigged, DeBoer zagged. And that seemed to have rubbed some people the wrong way.

Following one of the greatest coaches of all time was never going to be easy. But while critics continue to question whether DeBoer can sustain Alabama's standard, the recruits choosing Tuscaloosa seem far less concerned.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos