Looking at two guys who Nick Saban and Alabama football must target in the transfer portal this summer.
The regular season of college football is coming to an end. The regular season will end after the Army-Navy game on Saturday, giving way to bowl season and the College Football Playoff. However, this does not mean that college football will be forgotten. It’s time for the transfer gateway to start popping, and it is.
Approximately 3,000 players have entered their names into the transfer site in search of greener pastures abroad, which could mean greater playing time, playing closer to home, or simply a change of scenery. As usual, the top clubs in college football will be looking for a large number of players in the portal. Alabama football is unquestionably one of those teams.
Alabama was one of four teams to make the College Football Playoff, therefore their attention is not currently focused on the transfer portal. They will, however, remain active in the portal and seek to recruit players from there. They’ve had previous success there; Jermaine Burton, Alabama’s leading receiver this season, was acquired through the portal after transferring out of Georgia. Players will want to go to Alabama, the NFL factory. The dilemma is, who should the Tide be looking for through the portal?
Jermaine Burton led Alabama football in receiving yards this season with 777, but the team may need another receiver to either replace Burton, who is expected to leave for the NFL after this season, or to play alongside Burton and Isaiah Bond. Purdue’s Deion Burks may be the finest receiver in the portal. Alabama has not yet been identified as a possible suitor for Burks, but he is already a sought-after commodity in the transfer market. Bama could enter the Burks sweepstakes if they wanted to, and they probably should.
Burks’ numbers don’t jump out at you. He has 804 yards in three college seasons, with 629 coming this season. However, there is a reason for this. Burks was not a focus in Purdue’s offense in 2021 or 2022, playing behind David Bell and Charlie Jones. Both of the athletes were picked by NFL teams. And when quarterback Aiden O’Connell declared for the NFL Draft and head coach Jeff Brohm moved for Louisville, Purdue’s pass attack presumably followed him. Purdue only threw for 2,534 yards this season after throwing for at least 3,900 yards the previous two years. Burks was asked to do far too much.
Despite this, Burks accounted for around 25% of Purdue’s passing yards (624), 20% of the team’s receptions (47), and 47% of the team’s receiving touchdowns (7). He’s a big-play receiver who can score from any anywhere on the field.
Burks would be an excellent complement to Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe. Alabama should make every effort to extract Burks from the portal.
Alabama football will almost certainly require another pass rusher. Dallas Turner was one of the best pass rushers in college football this season and will almost certainly be a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. If/when Turner declares for the draft, Moore would ensure that the Tide do not skip a beat. The Tide should do everything possible to get Moore out of the portal.
