Cal Poly Center Racin Delgatty Commits to Alabama, Projects as 2026 Starter

Racin Delgatty spent two seasons at Cal Poly allowing one sack across 1,316 snaps at center. Now Alabama is betting those numbers translate to the SEC.

Delgatty, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound center from La Canada Flintridge, California, committed to Alabama on Jan. 16, one day after his official visit to Tuscaloosa began. He became the Crimson Tide's 14th transfer addition of the portal cycle and the program's third offensive lineman, joining former Michigan linemen Kaden Strayhorn and Ty Haywood.

The addition fills a direct need created when Parker Brailsford departed for the NFL draft. Delgatty, who played center as a redshirt sophomore during the 2025 season, steps in with immediate starting credentials. According to Pro Football Focus, he logged 1,316 career snaps at center while allowing just 14 total pressures and one sack, a statistical profile that prompted analyst Landon Tengwall to predict Delgatty will be Alabama's starting center in 2026.

Strayhorn, who transferred to Alabama early in the portal period, has experience at both guard and center but redshirted his true freshman season at Michigan. With Delgatty's arrival, Strayhorn is now projected to either slide to guard or compete as Delgatty's backup, according to reporting from the Tuscaloosa News.

The skepticism around Delgatty's numbers is legitimate. Every snap in that statistical line came at the FCS level against Cal Poly competition, and some analysts have attached an asterisk to the clean pressure totals for that reason. UCLA and Michigan both reportedly offered Delgatty before Alabama landed his commitment, suggesting the interest was real despite the FCS caveat.

Delgatty is a former unranked prospect from the 2023 recruiting class, which makes his path to Tuscaloosa a notable data point in the ongoing conversation about FCS-to-Power Four transitions. Analyst Tengwall used Delgatty's film breakdown specifically to argue that the jump is viable, citing what he characterized as SEC-ready traits. The Bamahammer framing echoes that: Delgatty gives Alabama experienced depth at a position that had none after Brailsford's departure.

Cal Poly has a small but growing footprint in Tuscaloosa. Former tight end Josh Cuevas came through the same program, transferred to Washington, and eventually followed coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama. Delgatty now makes two Cal Poly products in the building.

With two seasons of eligibility remaining, Delgatty's ceiling at Alabama extends through the 2027 campaign. Whether FCS-level production holds up against SEC pass rushers will define whether Tengwall's 2026 starting projection ages well or becomes a cautionary tale about reading too much into lower-division dominance.