Kadyn Proctor had a wild start to 2024.
Nick Saban retired, then Alabama football hired Kalen DeBoer to replace him. Proctor, the starting left tackle as a freshman, decided to enter the transfer portal and go back home to Iowa.
He transferred to the Hawkeyes but never played a down. Before long, he was headed back to Tuscaloosa, transferring to the Crimson Tide after the spring.
Proctor revealed more from that experience in the latest episode of “The Tides that Bind” on Fox Nation on Wednesday, a documentary about the 2024 Alabama football season.
“Coach Saban left,” Proctor said. “I just started thinking, who’s going to be our new coach? What am I going to do? I came here to play for Coach Saban, you know what I’m saying? So I went back to Iowa.”
Proctor said he just wanted to be by his family.
“But then a month and a half into being there, it just didn’t feel right,” Proctor said. “I didn’t have no close relationships with none of the guys. I couldn’t relate to none of them. I never heard the words ‘national championship’ come out of their mouths. It just wasn’t the place for me. Three months later, I left.”
Proctor went on to become the primary starting left tackle in his sophomore season with Alabama again. He missed the first two games because of an injury sustained in pregame warmups but was the starter the rest of the way. Proctor was named a second team All-SEC selection by the conference’s coaches.
“I apologized to Coach DeBoer,” Proctor said, “and he accepted me back.”
