It happens all the time, but it doesn’t mean it’s not breaking the NCAA codes. Are coaches allowed to contact players from another program without them being in the portal? The NCAA rule says, “Existing recruiting rules prohibit communicating with a student-athlete who is enrolled at another Division I school prior to the student-athlete appearing in the Transfer Portal.” Simply put, the answer is no. However, Alabama and HC Kalen DeBoer allegedly overlooked this rule, and they’re now facing the heat.

Even with a star QB like Jalen Milroe in the team, DeBoer has been accused of hunting for QBs through plausible illicit means. According to the latest update by Blue Bloods Bias on X, “Alabama & HC Kalen DeBoer are being accused of TAMPERING with Arizona Star QB Noah Fifita.” These allegations came after a few revelations Noah Fifita’s father, Les, made to The Athletic recently. And the catalyst was Jedd Fisch.

Following a pretty successful season for the Arizona Wildcats, HC Jedd Fisch left for the same role in Washington. Per The Athletic, “According to Les, the Sunday night Fisch left for Washington was bad. He could sense his son was shaken up a bit.” Understandably worried about his future with the Wildcats, the 20-year-old thought about entering the transfer portal. But he never did, which is why his father’s comments caused the stir they did.

Les Fifita said, “We had three [schools reach out] for sure. Alabama is the only one we were really interested in outside of Arizona.” Although he didn’t explicitly mention Kalen DeBoer, a prior connection came to mind. It was that, when DeBoer was the HC of Fresno State, he was among only a few to offer the quarterback a scholarship. While that may have been the reason Noah Fifita may have been interested in Alabama, it also sparked these allegations.

Per the X post, “This all went down around a week after DeBoer was hired at Alabama, which is ILLEGAL. According to the NCAA rules, coaches are NOT allowed to contact athletes who are not in the portal.” Following Nick Saban’s retirement, DeBoer took his spot after leaving Washington. And Jedd Fisch took his spot. The timing of these changes coincided with the timeline Les Fifita laid out in his comments to The Athletic. 

After a season where he finished 72.4% of 333 pass attempts and recorded 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns, Noah Fifita proved himself an asset to any team. Whether or not these tampering allegations against Alabama are true, they’ll be under the scrutiny of the NCAA. 

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The NCAA rule in question and Noah Fifita’s “right decision”

The NCAA rule doesn’t allow coaches to contact players who aren’t in the portal. This is what’s written in the NCAA Division I Transfer FAQ: “Student-athletes may not speak to other schools about transferring directly or indirectly through others until they receive notice that they have been input into the Transfer Portal. These rules extend to indirect contact made by third parties on the student-athlete’s behalf.” 

There had been speculations that Noah Fifita might enter the portal, but that was not to be. After Brent Brennan took over as the head coach of Arizona, Fifita had made up his mind and committed to Arizona. When it was officially announced that he and a few other teammates would be staying, Les Fifita described the feeling to The Athletic. 

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He said, “Just to get the text from [friends and boosters] to be like, ‘Man, you don’t understand what this means to Tucson and these kids sticking around.’ It was crazy, but it made it stick that they made the right decision.” As Arizona gears up for the season to come under their new HC, there’s no doubt Fifita would hope to have an even better year. As for Alabama and Kalen DeBoer, given that the NCAA is tightening its rules, these allegations could bring consequences if proven true. 

Update: As per the time of updating this article, Les Fifita has put out an official statement denying these allegations.

“Never have I Spoken to Coach DeBoer”: Noah Fifita’s Father Issues Strong Rebuttal to ‘Illicit Contact’ Amidst Tampering Allegations Against Alabama HC