Do you think experience is still the best teacher? Because 23 is the average age for Curt Cignetti’s 2025 Indiana roster who went on to win a national championship without a single defeat. If that’s the case, Kalen DeBoer’s 2026 roster would be swimming against the tide. But an Alabama legend who returned to campus this week has a different vision for the youth of the Tide roster. 

“When you’re young, you almost play with this juvenile freedom,” Greg McElroy said on Mac & Cube on February 6. “The younger you are, the more free you sometimes play. Does that occasionally lead to mistakes? Sure. But there’s also something good about having a really young team with something to prove. I’m super optimistic about this group.”

Coming from a former Alabama QB who started at 21 in 2009, Greg McElroy’s voice carries weight. In his second starting season, he led the Tide to a national championship. Age does play a factor but he believes youth has the potential to be formidable. But to unleash that potential, Kalen DeBoer needs to tame the young blood with urgency, accountability, and hunger to play and win. 

Alabama signed the top class in the SEC at No. 2 nationally per 247Sports and No. 5 per Rivals. The group features multiple elite players including RB EJ Crowell and WR Cederian Morgan, who could see potential starts in 2026. Maybe this is why Kalen DeBoer wasn’t aggressive in the portal even though they lost veterans like Deontae Lawson, Kadyn Proctor, and Ty Simpson. 

Speaking in Mobile ahead of the Senior Bowl, Kalen DeBoer acknowledged the roster data showing how young Alabama was last season and how they got battered late in the year. 

“The study was sent to me but it showed how young we were as a football team,” he admitted. “Probably led to some of the inconsistencies we had at times, especially at the end of the year when you’re facing the most mature teams and the best teams in the country, but it is what it is.”

Alabama won’t easily forget the 38-3 loss to Curt Cignetti’s veteran team in the Rose Bowl. But instead of chasing older bodies in the portal, Kalen DeBoer is trying to make youth part of the Tide’s identity. 

“That’s something we got to use as an edge and try to make kind of our thing,” he said trying to maintain the standard when WR Ryan Williams became a starter at 17. 

He also pointed to players like Lotzeir Brooks, Dijon Lee, Michael Carroll, and London Simmons. All these true freshmen from last year are now expected to take major steps forward. Still, the comparison between youth and experience still remains. 

Curt Cignetti builds with veteran players

When Curt Cignetti took over Indiana, he inherited a 3-9 team and flipped the roster immediately. The Hoosiers went 11-2 in his first season by leaning heavily into the transfer portal. What turned them around was experience with 31 transfers in 2024 alone, many with proven production. Thirteen came from JMU, including Elijah Sarratt, Aiden Fisher, and Mikail Kamara. The result was a roster filled with juniors and seniors ready to win immediately. Curt Cignetti has been transparent about the strategy. 

“It still takes those guys a little while to develop so they can play winning football,” he told The Triple Option. “I don’t care, you know, a 24 year old’s gonna play better than an 18 year old. So I don’t think you’re ever going to see the day where you’re not dabbling in the portal.”

Indiana high school recruiting may be improving. That’s apparent from the number of players they have taken in the portal since his arrival. 32 in year 1, 22 in year 2, and 17 in 2026. But Curt Cignetti admits the Hoosiers will still lean on the portal for proven veterans. After all, it worked and earned them a national championship. 

Meanwhile, Kalen DeBoer is neither ignoring the portal nor building around it. The foundation is high school recruiting, accelerated development, and belief that elite talent can grow up faster inside the program. Greg McElroy’s optimism fits that vision perfectly. Can Alabama live it up in 2026?