Richard Mullaney Transferring to Alabama a Superb Pickup for Tide's WR Depth

Transfer season is upon us, and Alabama landed one of college football's top free agents.

No, not Braxton Miller. Calm down, Alabama fans.

According to Ryan Bartow of 247Sports, the Crimson Tide have landed former Oregon State wide receiver Richard Mullaney.

Mullaney confirmed the news on Twitter a short time after the report surfaced.

As a graduate transfer, Mullaney is eligible to play for head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin right away.

He finished second on the Beavers in receiving behind star Brandin Cooks as a sophomore, hauling in 52 passes for 788 yards and three touchdowns. He was limited by elbow injury last year but still managed to catch 18 passes for 216 yards and a score.

He's a tremendous pickup for the Crimson Tide.

Kiffin must replace his top three receivers from a year ago, including Heisman Trophy finalist Amari Cooper. Is Mullaney capable of replicating Cooper's season that included 124 catches, 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns? 

No, but that's not what he's being asked to do.

After playing FBS football for three years in former head coach Mike Riley's system, Mullaney is—by far—the most experienced wide receiver on Alabama's roster. While most of the Crimson Tide wide receivers are comfortable with the speed of practice and have some snaps under their belts, nothing that comes Mullaney's way is going to surprise him.

At 6'3", 197 pounds, he towers over opposing defensive backs and can win his fair share of 50-50 balls. That's important, because Alabama's new quarterback—whoever wins the job—might need a reliable target such as Mullaney to bail him out when pressure gets in the backfield.

As Lindsay Schnell of Sports Illustrated points out, he's as reliable as they come.

Plus, he's a solid insurance policy.

ArDarius Stewart and Robert Foster were tremendous in Alabama's spring game. Stewart had seven catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Foster reeled in six passes for 125 yards, according to stats released by Alabama.

Both of those players look like potential stars, but the absence of consistent big-time experience makes that far from a certainty.

Mullaney provides another option—one that Kiffin can especially use early in the season as that new quarterback acclimates to the starting role.

He doesn't have the track record of a superstar receiver, but that's not what Alabama is asking him to be. 

Under Kiffin, he'll be asked to be a reliable weapon the new quarterback can count on and help the younger wide receivers evolve into bigger roles in the program.

For that, he's a perfect fit.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.