Kalen DeBoer Gets Upsetting Transfer Portal News as Alabama WR Joins Vanderbilt
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The Alabama Crimson rebuild just hit another bump. As if losing Jaylen Mbakwe, Jalen Hale and Isaiah Horton isn’t enough, Kalen DeBoer’s depth got hit. Word on the street, DeBoer has now lost one of the SEC’s fastest legs to Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt.
On January 9th, College football media giants ON3 hopped onto X and shared the upsetting news for Kalen DeBoer: ” BREAKING: Alabama transfer WR Cole Adams has committed to Vanderbilt @PeteNakos and @Hayesfawcett3 report.”
This is a very much-needed career move for a player of his speed caliber. Cole Adams simply decided to hit the market for more opportunities on the field after spending three seasons mostly on special teams at Alabama. The 5’10” wideout is expected to join Clark Lea’s offense for the 2026 season and has two years of eligibility left.
Adams was actually a highly-rated, four-star recruit coming out of Owasso High School in Oklahoma. The Owasso native clocked a 10.65-second time in the 100-meter dash back in high school days. Because of the stacked Bama room with filled WRs like Lotzeir Brooms and Ryan Willaims, he barely was on the field running routes; managed only just 5 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Despite not getting many reps, he made a name for himself as a solid punt returner. He recorded 19 punt returns for 156 yards in the 2025 season alone. The Alabama coaches often praised his route-running abilities in practices, so it’s safe to assume it’s not a talent issue. More of a full-house situation or scheme issue.
Cole Adams’ best performance came against Eastern Illinois. In that game on November 22nd, he was a total workhorse on special teams and racked up an impressive 99 all-purpose yards – a mix of punt return, and a couple of catches. That was enough for Vanderbilt to make a move for him.
The Commodores are hoping Adams can step right in and help fix their receiving game for the 2026 season. They recently lost their top receiver from the 2025 season, Tre Richardson, who transferred to Louisville. Getting Adams onboard is a key step in filling that gap. The plan is for him to use his speed and route-running ability to become a WR2 target for Jared Curtis or whoever’s throwing the football next season.
The coaching staff is working overtime to make sure the 2025 offense isn’t a Cinderella story. This week alone, Vandy hosted Purdue transfer Nitro Tuggle and Old Dominion’s Ja’Cory Thomas for official visits. By aggressively attacking the transfer portal, they plan to add maybe 2 or 3 wideouts.
The good news is DeBoer isn’t going to sit this one out. The former Washington HC’s already got his heads deep in the portal looking for senior wide-outs.
Kalen DeBoer’s WR portal plans
Kalen DeBoer is looking to the transfer portal in a big way to fix his wide receiver group at Alabama. The team just doesn’t have much experience right now after a few players left. Especially after losing players like certified pass-catchers Germie Bernard and Isaiah Horton.
So their first order of business is to grab some ready-to-play, older receivers who can step in immediately and help a relatively young roster. Kalen DeBoer is actually going out of his traditional way of developing wideouts through recruiting to give Bama a better chance to compete for a national title in the 2026 season.
His biggest target is Cam Coleman from Auburn, arguably one of the best wideouts in the entire SEC. Getting him won’t be easy. Because other major programs want him too. So, Alabama may need to be a little extra competitive with its offer. A smart move to help this chase was bringing in a new receivers coach, Derrick Nix, who previously coached at Auburn and has valuable connections to players like Coleman.
Basically, three years is do-or-die for any coach in the SEC. DeBoer is already feeling the pressure to make strong moves right now. It’s going to be an interesting week for Alabama fans.
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