The transfer portal and NFL draft have touched every corner of Alabama’s roster since the end of the regular season, but the turnover is greatest in the secondary.

Expected departures by senior safeties Jordan Battle and DeMarcco Hellams opened two starting jobs, and decisions by juniors Brian Branch and Eli Ricks to enter the draft added two more.

Branch — the Tide’s starter at “star” — is a projected top-20 pick this April, making his choice to turn pro obvious. Ricks, a starting cornerback, was more of a toss-up given his limited playing time this season and bumpy transition from LSU.

Attention now turns to two questions: who’s left, and what’s next?

As of Tuesday, Alabama has 10 players in its secondary scheduled to return in 2023 and five incoming freshmen. That could change with the NCAA’s transfer portal window still open until Jan. 18, and another opening April 15-30 after spring practice, but no additional players from the secondary are expected to declare for the draft.

At cornerback, Alabama is set to return two players with starting experience in Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold. Of the two, McKinstry enters his third season on more solid footing. McKinstry was a first-team all-SEC pick by coaches and a third-team All-America selection by the Associated Press, and with another strong season could become a high-round pick in the 2024 draft.

Arnold began this season as a starter but eventually yielded that job to Ricks after inconsistent play and issues with penalties. With Khyree Jackson having transferred to Oregon, Arnold could get the first crack at replacing Ricks, but there will be other options. Earl Little Jr., the highest-rated of Alabama’s three cornerback recruits in 2022, tweeted Tuesday, “My turn,” minutes after Ricks publicized his decision to enter the draft.

The development of Desmond Ricks, the five-star freshman cornerback unrelated to Eli Ricks, will be something else to watch this summer. The Tide is also still pursuing Cormani McClain, another five-star 2023 cornerback who is verbally committed to Miami but is the top unsigned player in his class at No. 9 in 247 Sports’ rankings.

The other returning cornerbacks are Jahquez Robinson, who will become a fourth-year junior in 2023 after three seasons mostly on special teams, and two rising sophomores in Antonio Kite and Trequon Fegans.

The safety position will experience its greatest turnover since after the 2019 season, when Xavier McKinney and Jared Mayden left for the draft. Battle and Hellams have been three-year starters at those positions and the Tide will need to replace both.

Malachi Moore is the most experienced option on the roster. He started at “star” as a freshman in 2020 before a back injury set him back and Branch took over that role. Moore has since contributed as a sixth defensive back and confirmed to AL.com in the locker room after the Sugar Bowl he will return next season, potentially moving to safety.

“Probably so,” he said. “I’ve been a lot free safety, strong safety and ‘star.’ Just seeing what the coaches want to do.”

Alabama will have a new safeties coach in 2023, too, with Charles Kelly having left after the Sugar Bowl to become Colorado’s defensive coordinator.

The Tide could turn immediately to its top-ranked 2023 recruit, Caleb Downs, to fill one of its open spots. The blue-chip prospect from Georgia is the No. 6 overall player in 247 Sports’ national composite rankings, and joined the Tide along with several other incoming freshmen for its bowl practices.

Returning at safety will be 2023 senior Kristian Story, who was AL.com’s statewide male athlete of the year in 2019-20 at Lanett. His contributions through three seasons have come almost exclusively on special teams, although he and DeVonta Smith, who will become a junior in 2023, were the primary backups this season to Battle and Hellams.

The other options at safety are Jake Pope, who was a freshman in 2022, and Brayson Hubbard, an incoming freshman who played quarterback at high school in Mississippi.

Alabama will also need to replace Branch as its starting “star,” or fifth defensive back covering the slot. Saban said on signing day last month that all four incoming freshmen are capable of playing the spot, but the two that seem most likely to compete are Thompson’s Tony Mitchell and Florence’s Jahlil Hurley. While a lot remains to be seen on the practice field, it is conceivable those two players compete for the “star” spot as Branch and Moore did three seasons ago as freshmen.

Across the secondary, there is also the possibility of the transfer portal adding additional experience to the room. The Tide has added one player through the portal this offseason, Maryland tight end CJ Dippre, after adding five before last season.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.