Top QB in 2024, Alabama Enrollee to Portal; Could He Land with Texas A&M Football?
Top QB in 2024 Class Julian Sayin Transferring from Alabama after Saban Retires; Could Texas A&M Football Land Him?
Alabama fans, since Nick Saban's retirement, have been seeing a portal exodus greater than anything that Texas A&M football has seen since the free transfer has been available. It's not only their current roster, either: some of the incoming freshman class, who have already enrolled, are now hitting the portal.
The latest of these is highly-touted signal caller Julian Sayin out of Carlsbad, CA. The top overall quarterback in the 2024 class has made his intentions to enter the portal known, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.
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. pic.twitter.com/TVpwQth7ic
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 19, 2024
Alabama brought in a transfer quarterback from Washington last week, Austin Mack. This could signal that they anticipated a move like this was in the works.
This portal entry is yet another example of the magnitude of Nick Saban's influence. Kalen DeBoer, hired as Saban's replacement, has produced several big time quarterbacks, most recently coaching Michael Penix Jr. to Heisman finalist status. That Sayin is departing before even giving DeBoer a chance shows how important Saban's presence is to the incoming players.
So, Sayin is outbound. The Aggies were not one of the top programs vying for his signature out of high school; even so, I believe they have a chance if they decided to pursue him. The reason I harbor that notion is simple: Sayin's primary recruiter at Alabama, Holmon Wiggins, is now on staff with Texas A&M football.
Wiggins, though a wide receivers coach, was one of the premier recruiters on staff for Alabama, and was routinely given the lead on high-level offensive prospects at many different positions. Obviously, he proved his mettle, as he was able to land big names like Sayin.
So, would the Aggies pursue? It would be difficult to say they shouldn't, given the quality of a player like Sayin. Texas A&M football previously intended to bring in two QBs in the 2024 class, but ended up only bringing in Miles O'Neill after AJ Maddox decommitted and DJ Lagway stuck with Florida. The Aggies are happy with their current QB room, but a door does seem open there.
We'll be watching this one closely. If Sayin chooses to visit College Station, Elko and company have shown that they know how to get these transfer prospects in the boat quite quickly once they arrive on campus.
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