Kadyn Proctor was spending too much time alone in Iowa City.

The Alabama football offensive tackle left the Crimson Tide after the 2023 season, transferring to Iowa. He quickly grew homesick for his former UA teammates, telling reporters on Wednesday that he knew Iowa wasn’t the place for him within a month and a half.

“I was sitting in my apartment by myself,” Proctor said. “I roomed by myself up there, and I just starting thinking about it, like those are friendships that are going to last a long, long time.”

The sophomore opted to hit the portal once again, leaving his home state behind for the second time. When the next window opened, he was on his way back to Tuscaloosa.

When he returned to town, he had a chat with new head coach Kalen DeBoer.

“I had apologized,” Proctor said. “Because I knew that when he first came here, his first week here, first day, a couple days, I really wasn’t giving him a chance. And I just kind of started that conversation with an apology because I really felt bad. Had my mind set on leaving and not really listening to what he had to say to me.”

Proctor started every game at left tackle last season as a true freshman for the Tide. With Nick Saban and most of his staff gone, it’s a whole new system in Tuscaloosa.

Nothing was handed to the returning Proctor. Early in camp, he was spotted working with the Crimson Tide’s second team during media observation periods at practice.

Before long though, he returned to the top of the depth chart.

“You can’t come back to a place and have a spot back,” Proctor said. “Everybody’s got to work for a spot, so that’s how I came into it. I knew I wasn’t going to get it at first.”

Proctor is listed a bit heavier than he was in 2023, 369 pounds on the Crimson Tide’s online roster, up from 360. However, he looks visibly slimmer, and said he’s carrying much more muscle mass this season than in 2023.

He’s earned positive reviews from Alabama’s new coaching staff throughout camp.

“He’s been great,” offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic said in early August. “Work ethic’s been off the charts. Open to coaching, learning.”

According to Proctor, the new build has helped him particularly in pass protections. Where he got beat around the edge in 2023, he now has the mobility to stick with those plays.

His roommate, Wilkin Formby, who played a major role in Proctor’s return to Tuscaloosa, is currently in a battle with Elijah Pritchett for the right tackle spot. Proctor said it’s been an interesting dynamic in their home, given that Formby has been assigned weight gain, while he is supposed to drop poundage.

Whether it’s Formby, who has been practicing with the first-team line during observation period, or not, Alabama’s prodigal son said he was confident in the Tide’s line talent for 2024.

“It can be really good,” Proctor said. “The five out there, I really do believe in us.”