Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer responded “there’s no doubt” when he was asked how big it would be to bring left tackle Kadyn Proctor back into the fold.
“He was a guy who was going to play a significant role in the program,” DeBoer said. “Losing him and now getting him back is a big deal for us. I think he did a great job of bonding with his friends, but most importantly, his teammates. “
DeBoer made his first comments about Proctor on Tuesday while in Birmingham for Yea Alabama’s Tide on Tour event, after Proctor transferred back to the Crimson Tide this spring. Proctor started all of 2023 at left tackle as a freshman, then transferred to Iowa in the winter. But then Proctor changed course again and decided to return to Tuscaloosa as soon as spring ended.
Proctor was one of the unique pieces Alabama added through the transfer portal after spring football. DeBoer said he feels “really good” about what the Crimson Tide added after A-Day.
“I feel like we improved in some areas, both talent-wise, and we needed some numbers for some depth as well,” DeBoer said. “This competition will only make us better. I feel like there were some areas we knew we needed to address and I feel like we did a good job on those.”
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The Crimson Tide has added six players through the transfer portal since the end of spring practice. That includes Proctor, kicker Graham Nicholson (Miami, Ohio), defensive back Kam Howard (Charlotte), cornerback DaShawn Jones (Wake Forest), defensive back King Mack (Penn State) and offensive lineman Geno VanDeMark (Michigan State).
Nick Kelly is the Alabama writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and covers Alabama football and men’s basketball. Contact him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Kadyn Proctor: What Kalen DeBoer said about the left tackle’s return
