Kalen DeBoer has not been a head coach on the Division I level of college football for very long and yet he was hired to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. With a fairly limited resume on which to recruit, the 49-year-old brought Michael Penix Jr. down to Tuscaloosa for one of the biggest weekends of the entire year.
The former Indiana and Washington quarterback was in town on behalf of a team for which he did not play!
Penix recently wrapped up OTAs with the Atlanta Falcons for the first time in his professional career. His rookie season in the NFL is underway but won’t pick back up until training camp later this summer.
As a result, the 24-year-old had some time on his hands. DeBoer put him to work! The Heisman Trophy runner-up flew down to the Yellowhammer State and chopped it up with some of the top recruits in the country.
The Crimson Tide hosted a star-studded group for its first official visit weekend of the year.
- Darrell ‘Duke’ Johnson — five-star linebacker
- Jaedon Harmon — four-star linebacker
- Na’eem Offord — five-star cornerback
- Chuck McDonald — four-star defensive back
- Ivan Taylor — four-star safety
- Michael Carroll — four-star offensive lineman
- Dawson Merritt — four-star linebacker
- Douglas Utu — four-star offensive lineman
- Nick Townsend — four-star tight end
- Rylon Dillard-Allen — three-star safety
- Shekai Mills-Knight — three-star running back
- Mal Waldrep — three-star offensive lineman
Many of the prospects on campus in Tuscaloosa are currently committed to other programs. DeBoer and his staff are trying to flip them to Alabama.
Here is where Penix comes into play.
Kalen DeBoer coached two years at Fresno State and two years at Washington. That’s it. There is not a whole lot of history, unlike someone like Saban who has coached forever.
Penix played for DeBoer when he was the offensive coordinator at Indiana and reached a national championship last season with the Huskies. Having him recruit for Alabama on behalf of his former head coach is a unique dynamic. Nevertheless, it is a testament to DeBoer. Michael Penix Jr. was willing to pitch top high school players on a school that he never attended because of the head coach.