Kalen DeBoer has plenty of challenges ahead as Alabama football coach, but he has already done well handling an early one.

He managed to keep most of the Alabama football recruiting class 2024 together while re-securing a commitment from Ryan Williams and adding Noah Carter, previously a Washington signee. All in all, a solid start for DeBoer, not even a month into the job.

He took over after Nick Saban retired on Jan. 10. So DeBoer missed the early signing period, which has essentially became the primary signing day. But he was in the job for national signing day Wednesday as Alabama put the finishing touches on the 2024 recruiting class.

Here's a look at where the class ranks nationally and our grade for it.

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How did Alabama football recruiting class 2024 rank?

247Sports Composite class rank: No. 2

Top signees: WR Ryan Williams, No. 3 receiver, No. 4 overall; CB Jaylen Mbakwe, No. 2 cornerback, No. 12 overall; CB Zavier Mincey, No. 3 cornerback, No. 27 overall.

Biggest miss: Quarterback Julian Sayin. He decided to transfer to Ohio State in the aftermath of Saban's retirement. He was part of the early signing period in December. Alabama is still in fine shape at quarterback, but Sayin was the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 class.

Grade: A-minus; Kalen DeBoer lost two players from the signing class that Saban landed in December, which should be considered a win overall. DeBoer also started things out with a colossal recruiting win by securing Williams' signature. Not to mention, DeBoer kept three of the top four cornerbacks in the 2024 class, despite Saban's departure. That was the position Saban coached.

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football recruiting 2024: Grading the class for Kalen DeBoer