It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Alabama Crimson Tide after legendary head coach Nick Saban announced his sudden retirement from coaching college football leading to several key players leaving the team by way of the transfer portal, and it sounds like another vitally important key player is following suit.
According to a report from college football insider Pete Thamel of ESPN, five-star incoming freshman quarterback Julian Saying – who is widely considered the top quarterback in the 2024 high school recruiting class, is planning to leave Alabama.
“Sources: Alabama freshman quarterback Julian Sayin, the top-ranked quarterback in the class of 2024, intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Sayin is expected to initiate the transfer process on Friday, per sources,” Thamel wrote in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
Sayin is ESPN’s No. 3 overall player in the Class of 2024 and the marquee offensive player in Alabama’s 2024 recruiting class. He’s an early enrollee who arrived in January and came to Alabama to play for Nick Saban He’ll now explore other options.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 19, 2024
“Sayin is ESPN’s No. 3 overall player in the Class of 2024 and the marquee offensive player in Alabama’s 2024 recruiting class. He’s an early enrollee who arrived in January and came to Alabama to play for Nick Saban He’ll now explore other options,” Thamel said in a follow-up post.
This is more terrible news for Alabama after they have already lost several key players and commitments following the departure of Nick Saban, and the college football world had a lot to say about it on social media.
Another moment of Bama Benevolence as the Tide continue to open up their treasure trove of talent to the rest of the nation: https://t.co/kSlQr9pgDJ
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 19, 2024
I hope some of yall can understand why the new QB was brought in now. https://t.co/x5g8X2u2Vs
— 🅱️🅰️Ⓜ️ (@_bigbam_) January 19, 2024
Alabama’s downfall is a wonderful time for America https://t.co/bDzZBD6dxj
— AJD (@Super_Stud2100) January 19, 2024
I ain’t sayin Alabama is falling completely apart, I’m just Sayin. https://t.co/KH4WwuqCKP
— Lance (@SportsGuyLance) January 19, 2024
Dry January getting more difficult for any Bama fans still on the wagon https://t.co/qFm51X2D92
— Wes Blankenship (@Wes_nship) January 19, 2024
https://twitter.com/ReportBulldawg/status/1748337835218772379?s=20
This is obviously a very big blow for Alabama, but it will be interesting to see where he lands next.
