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Here is the insiders’ latest reporting on the four highest-ranked available players in the 2024 recruiting class:
After two seasons in Tuscaloosa, an Alabama cornerback in the transfer portal is headed to Auburn.
Antonio Kite announced Wednesday, via Auburn Undercover, that he will be making the move to the Plains. Kite had stated plans Saturday to enter the transfer portal and officially went into the portal early this week.
Kite re-unites with Charles Kelly, who was Alabama’s safeties coach in 2022 before spending last season at Colorado. Kelly is now Auburn’s co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
Transfers between Alabama and Auburn have been rare, and Kite becomes the first player to move within the Iron Bowl rivalry since transfer portal rules loosened in 2021. Historically, running back Corey Grant transferred from Alabama to Auburn in 2011.
Kite was a four-star prospect in the 2022 class from Anniston, Alabama ranked No. 227 nationally by 247 Sports. He appeared in two games as a freshman and redshirted, then appeared in seven games this past season, mostly on special teams. Kite was one of Alabama’s second-team cornerbacks, opposite Trey Amos, in pregame warmups in 2023.
Since Nick Saban’s retirement last week, there have been eight Alabama players to enter the transfer portal. Kite joins Isaiah Bond (Texas) and Shawn Murphy (Florida State) as those picking new schools already.
Here’s the full list of Alabama’s 25 players to have entered the portal since it initially opened in early December:
Saban’s retirement last Wednesday thrust Byrne into a coaching search he had long expected to come at some point after his hire in 2017, but without an obvious solution.
After Saban informed players of his difficult decision, Byrne told the room to give him 72 hours to find the next coach. Byrne immediately drove to Birmingham’s airport and called former Alabama players on his way for advice.
“I talked to Joe Namath, and many others,” Byrne told Finebaum. “Just to get some feedback and see if they had any thoughts that they’d like to give me. They’ve got great perspective. I talked to a few key contributors of ours. I told them, I said, after this point, it’s gonna be boots to the ground for me and I’m going to be very focused on the task at hand.”
Byrne expanded Wednesday on his approach the possible candidates on his list.
“I know one of the things you hear out there is well, you had your first choice, second choice — and I said in the press conference, Plan A, Plan B, Plan C,” he told Finebaum. “But that’s not necessarily the order that you have as far as who you want. I think it’s irresponsible, on my part, if I walk into an interview and already say, ‘Well, I think think this is my third choice but I’m gonna talk to him anyways.’ I want to be open-minded and thoughtful in the conversations that will take place.
“So in a lot of ways, you have multiple names on a list, but in some ways, it’s bullet points. It’s not even numbers, it’s not even lettered. That was the approach I took on this one. As you could imagine, we had great interest in the job. It’s a premier job.”
Five days into the job, Byrne likes what he sees.
With the next signing period just three weeks away, 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins and national recruiting analyst Cooper Petagna convened on the 247Sports Football Recruiting Podcast to discuss potential landing spots for the top uncommitted players in the cycle.
Get football and recruiting scoop on your favorite college team for $1 for first month.
Here is the insiders’ latest reporting on the four highest-ranked available players in the 2024 recruiting class: