The Alabama quarterback situation is messy, unproductive, and inefficient, and Nick Saban needs to fix it now for 2024.
After a season-opening loss to Texas, in which starter Jalen Milroe went 14 of 27 with two interceptions, Saban turned to the bench. Against South Florida, Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner and 2022 four-star recruit Ty Simpson managed to rack up just 107 yards, didn't throw any touchdown passes, and the team managed just 17 points.
Now the team is going back to Milroe and it appears to be a long season for fans in Tuscaloosa. To avoid a repeat next year, Saban needs to start earmarking players he can get in the transfer portal that will keep the team a favorite for the National title game. Here are three players he should already be scouting.
Alabama transfer portal target at quarterback: Devin Brown, Ohio State
Devin Brown will be a junior next season at Ohio State and just lost the starting job for the Buckeyes to current junior Kyle McCord.
Despite a rough game against Indiana, McCord has been productive. He's completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and has six touchdowns to just one interception. He's been good, but not setting the world on fire, at least not NFL scouting reports. Barring a phenomenal season that catapults him into the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, McCord will be back next year and will retain the starting job.
Brown was a four-star recruit in 2022, and the fourth-best high school quarterback prospect that season. His high school coach was former NFL quarterback Joe Germaine, and during his senior year, he threw for 4,881 yards and 57 touchdowns.
He has completed 70 percent of his passes in limited snaps and has a decent size at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds.
Bama saw another Ohio State quarterback transfer to the SEC a few years ago, and Joe Burrow had arguably the greatest season in NCAA football history. Now Alabama gets a chance to try and repeat history.
Alabama transfer portal target at quarterback: Malachi Nelson, USC
The No. 1 overall player in the class of 2023, Nelson has no chance of playing while Caleb Williams is at the helm for the Trojans. Williams is projected to be the top pick in the 2024 Draft, but he could stay another year and keep collecting on his $2.9 million NIL valuation. He already has done national ads for Dr Pepper and Wendy's.
Nelson is an elite athlete, who can throw on the run, and from multiple arm angles. He was the Press-Telegram High School Football Player of the Year as a junior, throwing for nearly 2,700 yards and 39 touchdowns. In his senior year, he was a finalist in the Elite 11 quarterback camp.
Saban just missed out on getting him this past offseason and could look to rectify that with the 2024 transfer portal. If Nelson had known he could have started for the Tide this season, he might already be there.
Alabama transfer portal target at quarterback: Drew Allar, Penn State
Unlike the other quarterbacks on this list, Allar is a starter at a major college program and has no chance of losing his starting job next season.
As good as the Nittany Lions are, they are not the Crimson Tide, and Allar could bolt for the opportunity to play in the SEC and compete for a national championship.
He threw for 9,103 yards and 97 touchdowns as a high school starter. In his senior year, he was named Ohio Mr. Football before committing to play for Penn State. While he was initially rated as a three-star recruit, he was bumped to a four-star rating after he signed his letter of intent, and 247 Sports later gave him a five-star prospect rating.
He is currently completing 67 pecent of his passes for 3-0 Penn State and has thrown four touchdowns to zero interceptions. Allar currently boasts a passer rating of 152.4. He is a prototypical size, at 6'5 and 243 pounds.
A move to the Crimson Tide could make him a Heisman favorite in 2024 and a projected top-ten pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
