Alabama added a whopping 26 mid-year transfers this year, many of which hit the field for the first time in spring practice on Monday.

Among that group are 24 of the Crimson Tide’s 28 Class of 2023 signees, plus Division I transfers Trezmen Marshall (a former Georgia linebacker) and C.J. Dippre (a former Maryland tight end). That number has grown during Nick Saban’s 16-year tenure as Alabama head coach, beginning with a trickle of less than a half-dozen mid-year players in the early years, but now a full-blown flood.

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Speaking to reporters at Alabama’s Pro Day Thursday, Saban said there are clear advantages to enrolling in January rather than June or August, and not just in the football department. With so many newcomers, chances are several of them are likely to see the field in key roles in 2023.

“I think the freshman class needs to come in and make a quick impact,” Saban said. “I think the more guys you have that are mid-year guys … we don’t try to talk guys into being mid-year guys, but if they want to do it, I think there are some advantages from a personal, from an academic standpoint, as well as, you have more time to develop and learn football and be a little more ready to play in the fall.”

It also leads to a lot of new faces at Alabama practices. FBS programs are allowed 85 players on scholarship, meaning something like 32% of that group for the Crimson Tide are newcomers this spring.

“But I also look at it like, (around) one-third of our team, that’s their first practice ever as a college player,” Saban said. “And we’ve never had to deal with that before, either. We’ve got to have some patience in how we develop players.”

In addition to Marshall and Dippre, five-star freshman recruits Caleb Downs, Kadyn Proctor, Justice Haynes, Dezz Ricks, James Smith, Qua Russaw and Jalen Hale are all enrolled this spring, as are quarterbacks Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan. (That group of 26 also includes defensive back Tony Mitchell, suspended indefinitely after an arrest last week in Florida.)

Four signees — five-star edge rusher Keon Keeley and Yhonzae Pierre, running back Richard Young and kicker Conor Talty — are expected to join the team over the summer in time for fall camp.