The next great roster reshuffle is upon us. On Saturday, April 15, the spring transfer window will open for 15 days, allowing players to change schools and field offers.

Alabama’s use of the transfer portal has been clear over the last couple of offseasons: The Crimson Tide look for plug-and-play starters. When you have a recruiting class constantly ranked among the best in the country and a player-development system constantly producing first-round NFL draftees, it makes sense to prioritize the holes on the depth chart as opposed to other programs that look toward the portal for widespread overhaul.

“So how do you create depth out of the portal right now? You can’t do it. You do it later, and you can replace whoever leaves,” Nick Saban said before last year’s Sugar Bowl win over Kansas State. “And that’s the numbers you have to work with, and you’ve got to make good choices and decisions with who you recruit and how they’re going to fit on the team.”

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Since 2021, Alabama has taken nine transfers from major programs. 2021′s headliners were Jameson Williams (Ohio State) and Henry To’oTo’o (Tennessee) who became pieces of a championship roster. 2022 was a mixed bag with Tyler Steen (Vanderbilt) and Jahmyr Gibbs (Georgia Tech) slotted immediately into the starting offense but other expected contributors ranged from inconsistent, like Jermaine Burton (Georgia), to injured in the case of Tyler Harrell (Louisville) and Eli Ricks (LSU).

Before Steen and To’oTo’o achieve their draft dreams later this month, both were spring transfers that provided a solution to a gap in the roster. To’oTo’o held down the middle linebacker role for two years, getting the nod over unproven contributors. Emil Ekiyor, Javion Cohen and Kendall Randolph were the expected returners on Alabama’s 2022 offensive line and Steen came in to start all 13 games at left tackle, blocking Bryce Young’s blind side.

With the portal opening this weekend, A-Day scheduled for April 22 and a batch of defensive starters injured, Alabama is an interesting spot when evaluating its needs. After its own departures, the Tide will need to adhere to the limit of 85 scholarship players.

“We talk to our players about what they need to do to develop in this program,” Saban said on Wednesday. “That’s how we coach them every day and that’s how we focus on them every day. But I think the fact that we’ve had 3-4-5 at times starters out on defense has really given other guys great opportunities to be able to get a lot of reps to develop a lot of confidence in what they’re supposed to do and make a significant improvement and be responsible and compete like starters, which a lot of guys have. How that impacts the future, I really don’t have a crystal ball. I can’t tell you that.”

Like a year ago, Alabama is replacing multiple starters on its offensive line. While it’s rare to find an SEC starter like Steen, the Tide could look for a veteran player for injury protection and to avoid a reliance on the five freshman blockers currently in camp or another underclassman.

Similarly, on the defensive side of the ball, the Crimson Tide is still figuring out its safety rotation. Though elite high school recruit Caleb Downs has made a quick introduction, a few players were put back there during the Tide’s first scrimmage. A potential portal signee could bring a versatile piece to fill in at cornerback alongside Kool-Aid McKinstry should Terrion Arnold or another defensive back get moved around.

For now, Alabama will have two incoming transfers this fall with Georgia linebacker Trezmen Marshall and Maryland tight end CJ Dippre. Both should factor into their respective rotations with Marshall a candidate to add depth to the linebacker group and Dippre a possible weapon for new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. In years past, though, some of the Tide’s biggest gets have been after spring practices conclude.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].