The Alabama Crimson Tide were obviously entering a new era in many ways in 2024 under head coach Kalen DeBoer following the unexpected retirement of Nick Saban.

Of all the factors that made things difficult during DeBoer’s first season, the loss of a heavy portion of players to the transfer portal was near the top of the list. One of the players the Tide had to replace was center Seth McLaughlin.

After a 2023 season plagued by issues snapping the ball, especially in the final loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl, the elite blocking center hit the portal and wound up at Ohio State.

Since landing with the Buckeyes things have been good for McLaughlin. He has been responsible for anchoring an elite Buckeyes offensive line, won a national championship, picked up the Rimington Trophy, and likely will be picked up in a respectable spot during the upcoming NFL draft.

McLaughlin joined Cole Cubelic for an interview and revealed why he decided to leave Alabama.

Rimington Award winner Seth McLaughlin on why he transferred from Alabama. He had several reasons and then came the Rose Bowl “Everything’s blowing up placing the whole loss on me, my address got leaked on twitter” Great interview on Cube Show with @colecubelic pic.twitter.com/II1PHJzzR6

— Juck (@JuckOnBucks) February 2, 2025

“I felt like I got kind of stagnant in my development,” McLaughlin said, revealing he was thinking of transferring even before the Rose Bowl and the reaction to his struggles only amplified that desire. “Everything’s blowing up placing the whole loss on me, I see my address got leaked on Twitter…it was kind of a surreal moment, I talked to Coach Saban and he told me he didn’t want me to leave but understood why I wanted to. He wanted me to stay but I wasn’t gonna do that…I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

In the end, the move worked out for both Alabama and McLaughlin. The Tide picked up a new star center from Washington upon DeBoer’s arrival in Parker Brailsford while McLaughlin found fulfillment as a player in his role with Ohio State.

It’s rare that a transfer works out for both a team and a player, but that seems to be the case here. Alabama fans will likely still follow McLaughlin’s career as he gets ready to begin his NFL journey.