College football's post-spring Top 25 projections for 2024

5. Alabama

Is this the same Alabama program that Nick Saban led to the top of college football for well over a decade? Not quite, but Kalen DeBoer is a top-tier head coach and I feel like he's only going to need a year or two to be talked about as a top-five coach in the sport. He's up there right now, but a year or two in the SEC will put him over the edge.

Heck, his time in the SEC will either make or break him -- I'm betting on the former.

With all that being said, the Tide still return one of the best rosters in the nation, led by star quarterback Jalen Milroe who flirted with the transfer portal after DeBoer was hired only to stay in Tuscaloosa and trust in the new head coach.

Alabama will have an elite defense and with DeBoer at the helm, I can see the offense taking a massive step in the right direction. We all saw what he did at Washington in two years.

The Tide also bring in the No. 2 recruiting class and No. 4 transfer class, led by Kadyn Proctor (went from Alabama to Iowa and now he's back), Keon Sabb, Germie Bernard, Parker Brailsford, Austin Mack, Domani Jackson, and LT Overton. This team is just loaded.

Time will tell if it's as dominant as Saban-coached teams, though.