With spring practices starting on March 3, head coach Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the coaching staff have had several weeks to see how Alabama’s players are looking early in the 2025 offseason.
The Crimson Tide’s roster is vastly different heading into the new season, having lost 24 players to the transfer portal and taken in 10 more before the spring window even opened. That’s not to mention that 21 freshmen have joined the team this year.
Though there’s still a long way to go before Alabama’s first game on Aug. 30, coaches and players have already noticed some standouts in these early practices.
One such player is incoming Utah transfer Cam Calhoun. Calhoun was rated as the 11th-best cornerback in the winter transfer portal, and he’s joining DeBoer’s team after spending his first year of college in Michigan and his second in Utah.
Even among the team’s stacked defensive back room, which is hallmarked by former 5-star Zabien Brown and Domani Jackson, Calhoun has impressed coaches in early practices with his ball skills and coverage abilities.
“I really like Cam … you can tell this dude’s been a seasoned player,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said during a press conference. “He plays with a good energy, plays with a mindset of attacking the ball and brings some juice to our group.”
Given the level of talent Alabama has at his position, the praise Calhoun has gotten in press conferences suggests he has been playing at a level that could warrant starter consideration, namely at the seemingly up-for-grabs Husky position.
Isaiah Horton is another transfer who has shown promise in his first practices in DeBoer’s system. The redshirt junior is a wide receiver transfer from Miami who will add size to the wide receiver room with his 6-4, 205-pound frame.
After receivers Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard took most of the targets in the passing game in 2024, DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will likely look to spread targets out among a deeper wide receiver core. Horton could take up a large share of those targets.
“The lights aren’t gonna be too bright for him,” DeBoer noted after the first practice. “He came here for a reason: because he wanted to be pushed, he wanted to be challenged.”
The coaching staff hasn’t hesitated to showcase Horton’s skills already, as his impressive route-running drew viewers’ attention when he caught passes from quarterback Jalen Milroe during Alabama’s pro day last week. The coaches’ early confidence in Horton should let fans know he’s on track to be a top competitor for the Crimson Tide’s WR3 spot on the depth chart.
A pair of freshmen have been getting heaps of praise from coaches and players — the duo of cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. and wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks. Lee is a jumbo-sized corner hailing from Mission Viejo, California, and at 6-4 and 197 pounds, he is easily the largest cornerback Alabama has on the roster. His unique size for the position originally had some recruiting outlets projecting him as more of a safety or outside linebacker at the college level.
However, Wommack’s comments after the first week of practice seemed to quiet down worries that he can’t be a true boundary corner.
He noted that Lee has “really good feet” and a “demeanor that would indicate that a freshman could come and contribute.”
Fellow Alabama freshman and quarterback Keelon Russell praised Lee at the recent Maxwell Awards Gala. Russell told Score Atlanta that Lee was “making a great impact already as a true freshman.”
Brooks, who comes from Millville, New Jersey, has quite the opposite athletic profile from Lee but has similarly impressed in spring practice.
Russell didn’t shy away from comparing Brooks to a former Heisman-winning receiver for Alabama, saying, “He’s like DeVonta Smith all over again.”
Brooks is on the smaller end of the receiver room, listed at 5-9, but he has made up for his size with high-end speed and athleticism, which have allowed him to have a great release and an incredible catch radius.
Russell further said, “He’s very acrobatic. He can catch a ball any place you put it at, which makes the quarterback’s job a lot easier.”
If Brooks emerges as a threat in his freshman year, he would add both depth and diversity to Alabama’s receiver room. His small, quick profile would provide variety alongside bigger, bulkier pass-catchers such as Horton and freshman Derek Meadows.
