Former Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor is going home.

Proctor — a 5-star 2023 offensive tackle from Des Moines, Iowa —  signed with Alabama as a high school recruit after spending nearly six months as an Iowa commit. After a year in Tuscaloosa, Proctor hit the transfer portal.  On Saturday, he announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes.

 

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The 6-foot-7, 360-pound lineman has already enrolled and will join the program for the spring semester, according to The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman.

Proctor earned the starting left tackle job in fall camp and held that spot throughout the entirety of the season as Alabama made its run to an SEC title and a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance.

He was an All-SEC Freshman team selection in 2023, but played through growing pains as a first-year player in the SEC. He was charged with allowing 36 quarterback pressures, the most of any lineman in the SEC. But Alabama head coach Nick Saban stuck him throughout the season.

A week after Saban announced his retirement, Proctor hit the transfer portal.

And Iowa was ready to bring him home. With the ease of transfers in college football’s current form, the ability to continue fostering relationships with prospects even after losing recruitments is becoming something of a skill. Credit to the Iowa coaching staff for losing Proctor on the eve of his signing in 2022 and keeping the relationship intact.

At Iowa, he should step in and compete for the starting left tackle job right away. He’ll bolster a group that is set to return all five starters from the 2023 season opener. Should Proctor win that left tackle job, it would push Mason Richman — a three-year starter at the position — either inside to guard or to the other end of the line.

For Alabama, Proctor is one of several high-profile names to jump into the transfer portal following Saban’s retirement. Isaiah Bond left for Texas. Caleb Downs is joining Ohio State. Julian Sayin opted for the portal around the same time new head coach Kalen DeBoer added former UW quarterback Austin Mack to the quarterback room.

Attrition is to be expected during a coaching change. Alabama is currently in the middle of a 30-day window where players can explore their options. When he went on The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday, DeBoer said he was “not alarmed at all” by the portal movement.

“You just stay the course and roll up your sleeves. There’s such a great group of leaders here with this program who want to uphold the standard of Alabama football, and they are sticking together,” he said. “We want those guys who want to be here.”