BREAKING: Kalen DeBoer and Alabama fans get incredible news amid College Football Playoff Quarterfinals action

Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide are fresh off finishing the worst college football season that fans have seen since Nick Saban’s first year back in 2007. The Tide finished 9-4 on the year following a disappointing, turnover-heavy loss to Michigan on New Years Eve.

Thankfully, the team got some extremely good news on New Year’s Day amid all the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals action. And Alabama fans could certainly use some good news right about now.

Alabama’s December has been up and down in terms of off-the-field news. Their losses to the Transfer Portal at wide receiver (Kobe Prentice, Kendrick Law, Caleb Odom, Jaren Hamilton, and Emmanuel Henderson) likely lost them their game to Michigan. But then they got a fun Christmas gift via Isaiah Horton transferring in from Miami at wide receiver. Now there’s a bit more to get excited about for 2025 too.

Jordan Reid of ESPN among several others reported on Wednesday that Alabama’s super talented edge defender LT Overton would be returning for his senior season instead of declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft. This should be huge for Alabama’s pass rush and their chances at making the 2025 College Football Playoff.

Overton transferred in this past offseason from Texas A&M as a potential high impact immediate contributor and he stepped up big-time. He didn’t post an impressive sack total, but his 15% pass rush pressure rate and extremely high win rates in one-on-one pass rush situations made him a game-breaking force every single week this season for Alabama.

He was already considered by many to be a Top 50 prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, so it was a bit surprising when he announced that he would be returning. His hype had started to build among the NFL Draft community as he was clearly one of the youngest, most impressive athletes among all edge defenders eligible to be selected after this season.

Overton was Alabama’s best, most consistent edge defender all season long, so he should be a foundational piece of the Crimson Tide defense in 2025. Alabama also returns Quandarrius Robinson and a handful of other key defenders.

As of this writing quarterback Jalen Milroe hasn’t made his announcement (to return or declare) just yet, but if he comes back Alabama would immediately become one of the favorites to make a College Football Playoff run. This season might have been a bit of a disappointment as Kalen DeBoer struggled at times in year one, but it’s clear that most key contributing Alabama players are committed to him. Let’s hope it stays that way.