Is Saban Back? 👀 Paul Finebaum Says DeBoer’s Recruiting Run Feels Like “Vintage Alabama!”

Paul Finebaum has seen a lot of different times in Alabama football history. And now it’s all about Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. The offseason is getting hot for the man who will replace famous longtime coach Nick Saban.

On Monday’s episode of “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” Finebaum talked about how DeBoer was able to keep things the same by hiring Ryan Grubb, who had been his offensive coordinator and right-hand man for years. It gave the Crimson Tide a chance to see that consistency “oozing over to recruiting.”

Alabama has signed two top-50 players for the 2026 recruiting class in the last week. These pledges come from 4-star running back Ezavier Crowell, who is from the same state as the school, and 5-star edge Xavier Griffin, who is from Georgia.

Things are getting so heated that Finebaum said it “almost” feels like the famous Saban is back in charge:

“To be honest, this is one of the best times to hire people in years.” Finebaum said, “When it comes to recruiting, it almost feels like Nick Saban is back in charge.” “This has been classic Alabama recruiting, and I think a lot of people didn’t think people would ever get back to this point in time two and a half years ago. However, it is now there, and I believe it will be very good for Alabama in the future.

Finebaum also said that it sends a “annoying signal” to the rest of the college football world. It looks like DeBoer’s team will be able to compete at the top for a long time, even without Saban.

“This is a very annoying signal for the rest of college football…” “Alabama is still one of the best teams in college football history, even though Nick Saban is no longer there,” Finebaum said. “I believe many people forgot that, especially younger people who only knew Nick Saban.”

The team composite scores show that Alabama has the eighth best recruiting class in the country right now. The Tide, on the other hand, have the third-best average grade in the country after 14 hard commitments.

In this light, there is still time to try to beat USC for the No. 1 overall class in the country.