As Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama gears up to face Florida State on August 30, they are doing something for the first time. The Alabama Crimson Tide is opening a college football season with a true road game for the first time in 25 years, Saturday, when they visit Doak Campbell Stadium. The last time DeBoer’s program opened at an opponent’s home venue was against UCLA on September 2, 2000. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor already predicted the Crimson Tide having more chances of victory. But maybe they must not pop the champagne yet. Here comes a warning shot from the Florida State alum, fullback Freddie Stevenson.

Stevenson entered FSU as a linebacker and enrolled at FSU in January of 2013. He went undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft and was later waived by the Chicago Bears. In his four seasons at Florida State, he came up with 132 yards and 5 touchdowns, nineteen receptions. Even though his Florida chapter ended long ago, it did not stop him from warning DeBoer about his alma mater.

On the August 28th episode of the TRIALS to TRIUMPH podcast, “Do you think Florida State gets it done or do you think that the disrespect will be addressed?” asked the host. “Listen, man, we’re Florida State, coming off a 2–10 season. They understand what Coach Norvell and the staff are building. They know what time it is. For the standard of Florida State, it doesn’t get any more embarrassing than what we went through last year,” shared the Florida State alum. Mike Norvell’s program went 2-10 last season, which is the 3rd lowest win total for an FSU team in its 71-year history. But that does mean that DeBoer’s boys can take them easy.

“And they’ve been hearing it all off-season. And those guys are going to come in fired up. You got guys like Thomas Castellanos coming, bringing that confidence. Like anybody that came into this season having doubts like, ‘No, we’re coming in and we’re coming in to make a statement.’ And I like it because when you look at the history of Alabama, they struggle with dual threat quarterbacks,” shared Stevenson. Now, looks like the Florida State alum threw a stone at DeBoer’s beehive. 

There have been rivalry matchups in the past that exposed Alabama. For instance, in 2022, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker’s dual-threat presence dismantled Alabama in Knoxville with 385 passing yards + 56 rushing yards, ending Tennessee’s 15-game losing streak. Not just this, here Norvell’s offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn, is an added edge for the Seminoles over DeBoer’s program. As the Auburn coordinator, he holds a 1-2 record against Alabama and a 3-5 record as head coach against Nick Saban’s squad. Now, where does DeBoer’s squad stand to seek revenge against Thomas Castellanos’ sly antics?

As David Ballou turns up the heat in Tuscaloosa, Kalen DeBoer suffers a setback

Already, the Alabama squad is fired up against Norvell’s quarterback. He went viral for seeing Crimson Tide as the weaker force after the GOAT’s departure. “I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me,” said Castellanos. This obviously left the blood boiling for the Alabama fam. And how did they react to it?

As the comments made it to IG, the post was liked by DeBoer’s quarterbacks – Austin Mack and Ty Simpson. This showed that the disrespect won’t get away unaddressed, as they now signed up for an open challenge. Coming from a quarterback of a team that wrapped up the season with a 2-10 record, Alabama defensive lineman Kelby Collins shared a good laugh and dropped a “😂” emoji in the comment section. And what about DeBoer’s staff?

After accepting that their 2024 season “was not good enough,” Alabama head strength coach David Ballou ensured to push DeBoer’s boys to their furthest limits. “This offseason, they got challenged in a lot of ways,” said the coach. Sharpening the weapons, he sent a blunt message in the player’s way, in a ‘take it or leave it’ tone, “This is how we’re going to do things. If you don’t want to be here, leave.” No, they did not openly engage in throwing a challenge, and are waiting for the 2025 season to pull up the curtains.

However, instead of focusing on how to teach the Florida State Seminoles a lesson, Kalen DeBoer is now busy fortifying the fortress. Alabama co-captain and defensive tackle Tim Keenan III reportedly sustained an ankle injury. So how is he dealing with the loss? Mike Rodak tweeted, “Kalen DeBoer on DTs without Tim Keenan: ‘James Smith, Jeremiah Beaman — guys that have gotten a lot of reps. Edric Hill. There are a lot of guys who will be asked to take more snaps, more reps. There are some young guys that are gonna get thrown into the fire a little quicker than we originally thought.’” Is Alabama’s defense about to pay the price when the Seminoles test them?