Alabama lands prized running back, sets a record to keep its new GM

Usually, the biggest transition as the Crimson Tide gets ready to play football is the smell of fall that's in the air, not to mention the odor of fresh barbecue wafting all around Bryant-Denny stadium. Nick Saban created one of the most stable and successful programs in college football history, and the biggest controversy was who's going to play quarterback, not to mention the roster turnover in various position groups.

This year, however, things are a little different. A lot different, actually.

Alabama has a new coach this year in Kalen DeBoer, the former Washington headman who got the Huskies into the CFP championship game last year, and he'll be under pressure to maintain Saban's success rate and take the Tide to another title. To assist him in his quest, Alabama resigned its new GM Courtney Morgan to a deal at a reported $825K per year for years, which is the largest contract ever given to any college GM.

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Why Colleges like Alabama now have GMs

Let's start with the basics here - colleges didn't use to have GMs until fairly recently. The typical power structure was that the athletic directors set the tone and the budget for recruiting, staff, etc., and the coaches implemented their own system from there.

Not anymore. Now the transfer portal and NIL money have added a money element to the way rosters are assembled, so it makes sense that DeBoer would want a finance and personnel guy he knows in the 49-year-old Morgan, who helped him build Washington into a Pac-12 powerhouse. Morgan was reportedly approached by USC to head south to SoCal rather than east to 'Bama, and his upgraded salary numbers were first reported by 247Sports.

Alabama's recruiting class now sits at second in the country, and Morgan's success has drawn attention to his new NCAA job category. According to ESPN, Texas Tech GM James Blanchard landed a two-year deal worth a total of $800K, so the success copycat model is clearly underway.

The Players still matter

While Morgan's deal is definitely a big deal, it's still the players who have to go out and perform, and the Crimson Tide have been busy on that front as well. They just signed Akylin Dear, a former commit to Ole Miss, to a pledge deal for 2025.

Dear, a running back who weighs in at 205 and stands 6', is ranked #29 in ESPN's prospect formula, which includes 300 potential future college stars. His pledge mates include offensive tackle Ty Haywood (#18), cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. (#25), and wideout Caleb Cunningham (#19).

The move means that DeBoer will go into the season with plenty of weapons on the offense, and plenty of stud prospects all over the roster as well. He'll likely need them all to keep up with Georgia and whoever else emerges at the top of the Top 25, and now all the new coach needs to do is go out and duplicate Nick Saban's results on the field for the next decade or two.

Easy-peasy, right?

Alabama's schedule looks a little different this year

With the Crimson Tide now playing in the expanded SEC, Alabama's schedule looks a little different this year. They start at home against Western Kentucky, then go out of conference with a visit from South Florida and a Big Ten road trip to Wisconsin.

After that they enter the usual SEC grind, starting with a barn-burning matchup against Georgia at him. There's a brutal three-game stretch at #15 Tennessee, home against #11 Missouri, and at #13 LSU to test the Tide's mettle. And before they finish out at Bryant-Denny against archrival Auburn, Alabama gets to travel to Norman for a game against its relatively new conference mate, #16 Oklahoma.

Article originally written by Bob McCullough