Kalen DeBoer is now entering Year 2 as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and he's now built a roster that's capable of competing for a College Football Playoff spot and could go even further.

On Tuesday, we started our summer roster rankings for Alabama with Nos. 74-78. Now, let's keep it going with the next batch, Nos. 70-73, that features two front-line defenders and two tight ends.

A couple of things to continue to keep in mind with this series.

First, I shared a series of posts over at Cover Crimson prior to the spring that ranked almost the entire roster. It didn't include the true freshmen or JUCO signees because we hadn't been given a chance to see them on the FBS level yet. Additions from the transfer portal were included, so in total, there were 59 players in those pre-spring rankings.

Now, there are a total of 78 guys because we've included the early enrollees, JUCO signees and the latest portal additions. So the only ones who won't be included in this summer edition are the three freshmen who weren't able to enroll early (Chuck McDonald, Kaleb Edwards and London Simmons) and freshman punter Alex Asparuhov, who was out this spring despite coming in early.

I did want fans to see how much guys either climbed or fell between my pre-spring and summer rankings, so while I ranked almost 20 more players this time around, I also show where they checked in on my spring rankings and how many spots they've climbed or dropped when compared to just those original 59 players. In simpler terms, the number you want to pay attention to is the number in parentheses. If the player wasn't included in the pre-spring rankings, you'll see an "N/A" tag.

No. 73 – EDGE/DL Kevonte Henry

Previous ranking: N/A

Henry is another guy who wasn't included in the initial pre-spring rankings because he was a JUCO player who we had never seen play on the Division I level. Granted, we still haven't seen him get any live reps in a game–and he wasn't healthy in the spring–but we'll go ahead and include him now.

The California product brings plenty of length with his 6-foot-4 frame, but at only 248 pounds he needs to continue to get bigger and stronger if he's going to play that strong-side defensive end/Bandit role where guys are typically between 265-285 pounds.

Henry was surprisingly effective on the JUCO level as a B-gap player though, as well as what he's more known for as C or D-gap edge. He possesses an arsenal of pass rush moves with long-term upside in both a two and three-point stance.

With so many Bandits ahead of him (LT Overton, Jordan Renaud, Keon Keeley, and probably Kelby Collins) on the depth chart, I don't think Henry is going to see any sort of significant role in 2025. I do, however, think he's got enough twitch and pass rushing chops to at least be intrigued by what he could potentially bring to the table in 2026. Only having him for two seasons hurts though. Henry is currently listed as a redshirt junior.

Projected role in 2025: Depth Bandit/ST

No. 72 – DL Steve Mboumoua

Previous ranking: N/A

For anyone who follows my work, you know I'm a big fan of Steve Mboumoua. Physically, he's easily the most impressive interior defensive lineman on Alabama's roster with a thick, well put together build that's capable of adding more mass to his already 298-pound frame. Here's what I said about the JUCO product after our first practice observations in early March:

Steve Mboumoua is a massive human. Easily the most physically impressive player amongst the defensive linemen. Now that doesn’t mean best player; we’re just talking physically. He’s still working on some technical things though, including pad level and consistently getting the right hand placement on his strikes. The JUCO product had to restart on the sled drills multiple times, and DL coach Freddie Roach was giving him some tough coaching, but that’s to be expected because Roach knows what this guy is capable of. The raw power really stands out in person—even more so than on tape. Wasn’t always using the right technique, but that sled bag was still being jolted back with some authority. I’m sky high on this guy.

The technical side of things could be what keeps Mboumoua from contributing much in 2025. Don't get me wrong, when things finally click for him, he's got tremendous upside, but there's going to be an adjustment period for him after only spending one year on the JUCO level and having limited football experience prior to that season.

At one time, I thought Alabama was in need of a fifth rotational piece on the interior of its defensive line to play alongside Tim Keenan III, James Smith, Jeremiah Beaman and Edric Hill, but once we saw Florida transfer Kelby Collins spending most of his time as that guy during the A-Day practice, I'm starting to feel like he'll be the one to fill that void, especially in the short term. That should give Mboumoua some time to learn and develop, which will only help him down the road.

Projected role in 2025: Depth DL/ST

No. 71 – TE Jay Lindsey

Previous ranking: No. 58 (+2)

Coming out of high school, Lindsey was an extremely physical in-line blocking tight end. I think that physicality even rivals guys such as CJ Dippre, but coming from a smaller school in Mississippi, there were still things he needed to clean up as far as his technique. As a freshman, he was already listed at 6-5, 255 pounds, which is right in line with some of the others at his position.

I really liked the tight end combination that Alabama signed during this past cycle with Kaleb Edwards and Marshall Pritchett. I feel like those are ideal Y and H-TE options who could each have more completeness to their game than Lindsey, but I don't want people to forget about the now redshirt freshman.

His blocking prowess and soft hands as a receiver could earn him playing time at some point down the road, but he's already sandwiched between the more established Y-H options in Danny Lewis and Josh Cuevas, and the two freshmen listed above. Now, he's got two transfers (Brody Dalton and Jack Sammarco) to battle in the immediate while worrying about top-100 recruit Mack Sutter in 2026.

Lindsey finished the spring as Alabama's only healthy tight end, which did get him valuable reps, but I don't know how much that's going to help him in 2025 or beyond. He's not a name to dismiss, but I'll be curious to see how he continues to develop in comparison to some of the other guys at his position. For now, I'm only going to project him as a depth piece at the Y-position.

Projected role in 2025: Backup Y-TE/ST

No. 70 – TE Jack Sammarco

Previous ranking: N/A

Sammarco was an interesting and unexpected addition to Alabama's tight end room. The connections to in-state tight end Brody Dalton at Troy had already been confirmed at the time, but the West Virginia weapon wasn't even on the radar for us. After his commitment happened and his film was studied, it was easy to understand the logic behind bringing him in.

Sammarco was only a freshman in 2024 and played just 96 snaps (80 of which were in-line, by the way), but the previous Mountaineers coaching staff loved him and thought he had a bright future in Morgantown. Then that staff was let go and former WVU coach Rich Rodriguez was brought back after several years away from the program, including a three-year stint at Jacksonville State. And while his offense didn't feature the tight end much in his first run as head coach, it had since evolved with former Gamecocks starter Sean Brown even finishing third on the team with 41 targets in 2023.

Still, Sammarco decided to leave, which turned out to be Alabama's gain. He's still got three years of eligibility remaining, so he's not necessarily expected to be an immediate contributor, but he does have some long-term upside that’s intriguing. He's already listed at 6-5, 260 pounds with a frame that could probably hold quite a bit more.

I've said before that he could eventually turn into an ultra-athletic tackle, should he continue to grow and add mass, but for now, we're expecting him to play exclusively tight end. He's certainly got the size and frame to be your traditional inline option, but part of me also believes he could turn out to be a big-bodied H-option, similar to Robbie Ouzts (despite having a lot more length). There’s more upside for him as a pass-catcher too, so I’m definitely a fan despite not projecting him to have a substantial role this season.

Projected role in 2025: Backup Y or H-TE