Hello and Roll Tide! Alabama kicks off the 2025 College Football season on Saturday August 30th at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. The Tide will take on the Seminoles of Florida State to start the 2025 season. Kalen DeBoer had a successful year 1 at Alabama though many would say that it did not live up to the Bama standard. DeBoer and staff look to re-enter the national picture one game at a time, starting with Florida State. Below is a projected depth chart, injury updates, season storylines, FSU preview, and week 1 storylines. Let’s go!

Depth Chart: (my predictions)

Offense​

  • QB Ty Simpson Austin Mack Keelon Russell
  • RB Jamarian Miller Richard Young Daniel Hill Dre’lyn Washington
  • WR-X Isaiah Horton Jalen Hale Derek Meadows
  • WR-Z Germie Bernard Rico Scott Jaylen Mbakwe
  • WR-H Ryan Williams Lotzeir Brooks Cole Adams Bubba Hampton
  • TE -Y Josh Cuevas Danny Lewis Marshall Pritchett Jay Lindsey
  • TE -H Brody Dalton Jack Sammarco Kaleb Edwards Peter Knudson
  • LT Kaydn Proctor Olaus Alinen Micah DeBose
  • LG Kam Dewberry Geno VanDeMark Michael Carroll Casey Poe
  • OC Parker Brailsford Geno VanDeMark Roq Montgomery Joseph Ionata
  • RG Jaeden Roberts Geno VanDeMark Joseph Ionata William Sanders
  • RT Wilkin Formby Jackson Lloyd Arkel Anugwom

Defense

  • BAN LT Overton Kelby Collins Jordan Renaud Keon Keeley
  • NT Tim Keenan III Jeremiah Beaman Isaia Faga
  • DT James Smith Edric Hill Steve Mboumoua London Simmons
  • WOLF Qua Russaw Yhonzae Pierre Noah Carter
  • WOLF-Blitz Jah-Marien Latham Keon Keeley Justin Hill
  • MLB Deontae Lawson Cayden Jones Darrell Johnson
  • STING Justin Jefferson Nikhai Hill-Green Luke Metz
  • FCB Domani Jackson Dijon Lee Cameron Calhoun
  • ROVER Keon Sabb Zay Mincey Kameron Howard
  • FS Bray Hubbard Ivan Taylor Ivan Taylor
  • BCB Zabien Brown Jaylen Mbakwe Chuck McDonald
  • HUSKY DaShawn Jones Red Morgan

Special Teams

  • PT Blake Doud Alex Asparuhov
  • PK Conor Talty
  • KO Conor Talty
  • LS David Bird
  • H Blake Doud Alex Asparuhov
  • PR Cole Adams Jaylen Mbakwe Lotzeir Brooks
  • KR Jaylen Mbakwe Ryan Williams Lotzeir Brooks

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Injury Updates:

· Jam Miller is OUT against Florida State with a dislocated collarbone. He will likely miss the first 4 weeks of the season.

· Tim Keenan is OUT against Florida State with a lower-body injury. He will require surgery and likely miss multiple weeks.

· Jaeden Roberts is Questionable to play against Florida State with a concussion. He is progressing slowly, likely will not miss more than one game.

2025 Alabama Crimson Tide Storylines:

1) Getting back to the playoffs – Last season Alabama had a very difficult task in replacing Nick Saban as the head football coach. Greg Byrne acted fast, hiring Kalen DeBoer only 49 hours after Saban’s retirement. Still, some 20 players entered the transfer portal. Kalen did a great job keeping the remainder of the team together and even brought in transfers of his own. Year one was difficult and turbulent as the Tide finished 9-4, missing the playoff by one spot. This Spring, Alabama did not have any players enter the portal demonstrating how tight this unit is. While players may have stayed a season ago due to the script A on their jerseys, everyone on this roster is committed to DeBoer’s vision. While many people’s goal will be to win the National Title, the new staff should start smaller and be satisfied with a trip to the College Football Playoffs. DeBoer needs to establish to the school and their fans that he can put this team in a position to win it all.

2) Grubb’s High-Flying Offense – When DeBoer accepted the job in 2024, Ryan Grubb was supposed to join him in Tuscaloosa as the offensive coordinator. Instead, Grubb was offered the same job for the Seattle Seahawks and he decided to stay in Seattle. After one season in the NFL, Grubb and the Seahawks parted ways, setting up a reunion between DeBoer and Grubb in T-Town. Grubb has worked on and off with DeBoer dating back to 2007 at Sioux Falls. Then DeBoer hired him at Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, and Washington. As much as DeBoer is known as an offensive genius, Ryan Grubb is right there with him. Grubb and DeBoer are known for their high-octane passing game, one that was lacking at Alabama in 2024. Last season, Alabama ranked 56th in the country with 236 passing yards per game. At Washington in 2023, Grubb/DeBoer’s offense ranked 2nd in the country with 343 passing yards per game. Can Alabama, led by Ty Simpson, mirror the success that DeBoer and Grubb have had at other colleges?

3) Defense Wins Championships – After a few hiccups to start the season, Kane Wommack had Alabama’s defense operating at full potential to finish the 2024 season. Alabama allowed 21.3 points per game in the first 7 games but closed out the next 6 games allowing only 12.8 points per game. They finished the season allowing 17.4 points per game, 10th best in the nation. They were also 21st in yards allowed per game (320.1). Alabama’s defense is experienced with 8 Seniors on the roster. There are also 7 returning starters, not including Bray Hubbard who played great following Keon Sabb’s injury. Much of Alabama’s success on defense was due to an incredible rebuild of the Secondary. Entering last season, the Tide’s biggest question mark was the Secondary and just a season later, it is Alabama’s biggest strength. Transfers Domani Jackson, Keon Sabb, and DeShawn Jones all contributed immediately at a high level. Freshman Zabien Brown locked down the 2nd corner position with Domani. After Sabb’s injury, Bray Hubbard established himself as one of the best safeties in the country. Each of these guys will play significant roles for the Tide in 2025. If the Tide continue to improve on their play from a season ago, this could be a very dangerous side of the ball. However, Alabama did struggle rushing the quarterback, finishing 13th in the SEC in sacks per game. Kane will need to increase the pressure on opposing quarterbacks if this unit is to reach its full potential.

4) Win the line of scrimmage – On paper, Alabama has the most talented Offensive and Defensive lines in the country. The offensive line returns 3 starters (Proctor, Brailsford, and Roberts), added a former top 100 recruit in transfer Kam Dewberry, and will turn to Wilkin Formby at right tackle who started two games a season ago. Each of the last two seasons, Alabama’s offensive line has been on the preseason watchlist for the Joe Moore award yet underperformed. A mobile quarterback like Jalen Milroe made their jobs more difficult, but running the ball saw a dip in production as well. Similarly, LT Overton, Tim Keenan, James Smith, and Jah-Marien Latham return on the defensive line. As mentioned above, this unit struggled to impact the opposing quarterback a season ago. The Tide could also use improvement defending the run. They ranked 48th in the country a season ago allowing 137.8 rushing yards per game. Alabama certainly has the talent to win the line of scrimmage, but we’ll need to see it consistently as the season goes on.

5) Is Ty the guy? – Alabama has been blessed with strong quarterback play in recent years as their last 5 starting quarterbacks were all drafted in the top 3 rounds of the NFL draft. Ty Simpson is looking to make that 6 in a row. Ty was a 5-star in the class of 2022, ranked the #3 quarterback in the entire class. He played his high school ball in Martin, Tennessee where he won the 2021 Tennessee Gatorade High School player of the year. Ty’s potential is clearly there, yet he was unable to beat out Jalen Milroe for the starting job each of the last two seasons. Being the understudy last season should position Ty to succeed right away. Kalen DeBoer’s offense is complex as we saw Jalen struggle in it a season ago. The ceiling is very high for Ty Simpson, and he’s got plenty of talent around him to help him succeed.

Week 1: Florida State Seminoles

On Saturday, Florida State will host Alabama at Doak Campbell stadium for the first time ever. Alabama and FSU have only played each other 5 times and FSU has never been the home team. Alabama leads the all-time series 3-1-1. They played each other at Tuscaloosa in 1965 (W 21-0), Birmingham in 1967 (T 37-37), Tuscaloosa in 1974 (W 8-7), Jacksonville in 2007 (L 14-21), and Atlanta in 2017 (W 24-7). Florida State rose to national prominence in the 1990s as they played in 5 national championship games between 1993 and 2000. Florida State has won 3 national titles: 1993, 1999, and 2013. FSU won the ACC in 2023 touting a 13-0 record before losing to Georgia 63-3 in the Orange Bowl.

Florida State had a season to forget in 2024, finishing last in the ACC with a record of 2-10 (1-7 ACC). They brought in 30 new players in the 2024 class, 23 freshmen and 17 transfers. At the same time, 27 players transferred out of FSU and 18 Seniors used up their eligibility. Mike Norvell quickly found himself with a brand-new football team and was unable to replicate their success from 2023. Similarly, FSU brought in 23 additional transfers leading up to the 2025 season. Mike Norvell has been a D-I head coach for 9 years, posting a winning record in 6 of those. While at Memphis from 2016-2019, Norvell qualified for 4 bowl games and won the 2019 AAC Conference Championship. At Florida State, he won the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl and 2023 ACC Championship. Norvell has had a lot of success and will try to get Florida State back on track in 2025.

Florida State’s offense is led by Boston College transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos. Tommy started 7 games for Boston College in 2024 before being replaced as the starter. Tommy completed 61.5% of his passes for 1,366 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Though his rushing stats do not show him as a dual-threat quarterback, Castellanos has shown the ability to extend plays via the scramble. His rushing numbers are also devalued since he took 19 sacks in 2024. Tommy has made headlines with multiple quotes leading up to the Alabama game. Here are a few: “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me”; “We stand on what I said”; “I think Coach White and our defense is the hardest defense I’ll see all year”. While the last one was indirect, it is still a jab at his upcoming opponent. Alabama usually doesn’t need extra fuel for their fire, but Tommy gave them some anyway. While Tommy’s stats might not jump off the page, it is an upgrade from Florida State’s offense a year ago. FSU ranked 131st in points per game (15.4) and 132nd in yards per game (270.3). Their top rusher in 2024 left, opening the job to a familiar face, Roydell Williams. Roydell was a part of Alabama’s 2020 recruiting class and spent 4 years with the Tide before transferring to Florida State in 2024. Roydell was Alabama’s 2nd leading rusher in 2023 with 560 yards on the ground. Another familiar face on the offensive side of the ball is their coordinator, Gus Malzahn. Malzahn has a lot of experience with Alabama being an OC at Auburn from 2009-2011 then their head coach from 2013-2020. Auburn saw a lot of success while Malzahn was there, going 3-5 as a head coach and 1-2 as the OC. This was all against Nick Saban, yet it shows that Gus is experienced in big games.

Florida State’s defense struggled in 2024 ranking 87th in points allowed per game (28.0) and 86th in yards allowed per game (385.9). To be fair, the offense almost never allowed them to get any rest. They do return 2 of their top 3 tacklers from a season ago in CB Shyheim Brown and LB Blake Nichelson. All three of their sack leaders either transferred or went to the NFL, leaving the responsibility to rush the passer in question. FSU brings in a lot of talent each year so there’s plenty of potential for this defensive unit. They’ll need their offense to help out a bit more this season if they are to find any consistency.

Week 1 Storylines

1) Down 3 Starters, do we have the depth? – Alabama suffered some significant blows this past week as three starters will likely miss week 1: Running back Jam Miller, Right guard Jaeden Roberts, and Nose Tackle Tim Keenan. All were expected to be big contributors this season, now the Tide must look to depth at those positions.

a. Running back – Following Jam’s injury, the rotation at running back will be very intriguing. Daniel Hill has received a lot of praise this offseason, yet Richard Young has the most experience with Alabama. Dre Washington has the most experience overall, playing in 31 games while at Louisiana the last 4 seasons. How will Grubb and DeBoer manage the backfield? Will anyone stand out above the rest?

b. Offensive line – Prior to Jaeden’s injury, there was only one position battle remaining along the line, left guard. Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry was battling with former Michigan State transfer Geno VanDeMark. Geno is a bit of a Swiss army knife, he started at 3 different positions along the line a year ago. Geno was likely going to be the main backup for all interior lineman positions, but now will likely get the start against FSU at right guard. We should still consider this an audition between Kam and Geno as Jaeden will retain the starting role upon his return. Non-injury related, Wilkin Formby will be worth monitoring at right tackle. He started the first two games in 2024 before being replaced by Elijah Pritchett. Pritchett transferred to Nebraska, awarding the position to Formby, yet Olaus Olinen appears to be the primary backup at both tackle positions. If Formby struggles we could see Olaus get a chance with the starting 5.

c. Nose Tackle – Tim Keenan is a huge loss for the defensive line. Tim was a starter each of the last two seasons and voted captain for the 2025 campaign. This is a position group that struggled a year ago and now they have to open the season without their leader. Depth pieces behind Keenan are inexperienced. The lead to replace him is Redshirt Freshman Jeremiah Beaman. Beaman entered Alabama at 6-3 259lbs and is now up to 314lbs to start the year. He looks the part but hasn’t played any significant reps at the position. Steve Mboumoua (pronounced BOOM-Wah) is a sophomore JUCO transfer who has zero D-I experience. They may look to move some lineman around to cover at Nose. James Smith could move to Nose, opening the door for Redshirt Sophomore Edric Hill at DT. Other options include moving LT Overton or Kelby Colins over from the bandit role. Kelby played inside for Florida a season ago. This injury will test Alabama’s depth the most in the opener.

2) Can we contain the run game? – Tommy Castellanos is a mobile quarterback and Alabama struggled with those a year ago. Two of Alabama’s losses in 2024 came to mobile quarterbacks: Diego Pavia and Jackson Arnold. Castellanos is more similar to Pavia, not a true runner but will scramble to extend plays. Alabama’s pass rush was lackluster in 2024 and now without Tim Keenan the Tide need someone to step up and get the quarterback down. At the same time, stopping the run is another great way to limit their offense. Jihaad Campbell was a huge asset in the run game last season, leading to his selection in the first round of the NFL draft. Alabama’s middle linebacker room has three Seniors in Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green. Their experience should help contain the run game so most of the focus remains on the defensive line pushing the pocket and disrupting quarterback rhythm.

3) Will the Skill positions lift Ty up? – Ty Simpson is under immense pressure as the starting quarterback at Alabama, but it does come with some perks. The depth at wide receiver is more than most first-time starting quarterbacks can ask for. The Tide’s top two receivers Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard return as starters alongside coveted transfer Isiaha Horton. At 6-4 Horton adds a new layer to the Alabama passing attack. The offensive line is one of the highest rated coming into the year which should also provide Ty with some comfort. If everyone does their job, Ty will simply need to be a game-manager to help Alabama win. That said, Ty is an exceptional athlete and will be able to make plays all on his own. A good comparison going into the season is Blake Sims. Sims was athletic enough to extend plays, scrambled when necessary, and limited turnovers.

4) Special Teams Reset – Alabama is replacing all three specialists in 2025 as Graham Nicholson, James Burnip, and Kneeland Hibbett all ran out of college eligibility. This is quite an extreme makeover for DeBoer who commented “[they] were mainstays in the program for quite some time or had a lot of experience playing at a high level.” Most eyes look to the kicker, Connor Talty, after Alabama’s last 6 years with high-end talent at the position. Through most of Saban’s career, kicker was a liability until recently. DeBoer has faith in Talty who has big shoes to fill. As for punters, Alabama brought in two who competed this fall. Blake Doud is a Redshirt Senior from Colorado School of Mines and looks to be the starter, solely due to experience. Doud’s average punt distance was similar to Burnip’s at 46.6 yards per punt. His main competitor is true freshman Alex Asparuhov. David Bird transferred from California to be the long snapper, while walk-on Jay Williams will likely maintain the backup role.

As always, reach out if you have any questions or comments! This should be a very exciting year of Alabama football. If you know of anyone who wants to join the newsletter, send them my way!

Roll Tide!

-Jake