Kalen DeBoer might have gone 9-4 in his first season at Alabama, but he can’t be blamed. Replicating Nick Saban’s heroics is no easy thing, and it becomes a herculean task when you have huge attrition on your hands. But the further seasons won’t be as woeful, and the work has already begun with recruiting. For context, the 2025 class is already ranked 3rd nationally with prospects like Keelon Russell and Michael Corroll gracing it. And as for the 2026 class? Jett Thomalla, their recent 2026 commit, is making headlines already!

The 2026 class is again building to be one of the best classes in the country, with Kalen DeBoer already having roped in 7 commits. It’s currently ranked 10th in the country, with several prospects already in the pipeline to commit in July. So, while these recruitment exploits were taking place, Kalen DeBoer got a commitment from a talented 4-star QB. But this isn’t the news. The QB’s commitment has already landed a prediction about the first fixture against FSU in 2025.

Hayes Fawcett shared the news of the commitment on his IG account with a picture of their new QB commit, Jett Thomalla, and wrote, “BREAKING: Four-Star QB Jett Thomalla has Flipped his Commitment from Iowa State to Alabama, he tells me for @on3recruits. The 6’4 210 QB from Omaha, NE had been committed to the Cyclones since April.” The ON3 transfer reporter also shared a statement by Thomalla, “All glory to Gog, Roll tide!!” However, as this post was up on Instagram, Thomalla’s high school teammate, Chase Loftin, came in with a scathing reply.

Loftin, who has committed to FSU in the 2025 class as a three-star tight end commit, teased about Bama’s first week fixture and predicted a loss for the team. Loftin commented on Fawcett’s post, “0-1 first game tho.” Consider the rivalry officially on. As this seems like an early shot fired between the two players who played together for the 2024 season at their Millard South High School, Omaha, Nebraska.

But before we get into that, what about that FSU vs Alabama game? Well, FSU last year had one of the most disappointing seasons in their entire history as they finished 2-10. The finish was more concerning, considering they had an 11-win season in 2023, and thus, the downgrade was concerning. So, considering their last season, beating Alabama will be tough for Mike Norvell since Alabama has one of the best receivers in the country, Ryan Williams. Although FSU has brought in the offensive maestro Gus Malzahn as their OC, which can, in turn, cause an upset, too. And now there’s an added tension, thanks to the two former high school teammates.

Both Thomalla and Chase Loftin’s bond go way back

Standing at 6’4″ and 190 lbs, Thomalla initially committed to Iowa State last year in April and even called it “home.” However, when Kalen DeBoer became interested and Nick Sheridan started pursuing him, not many prospects could resist the urge to join the mighty Bama, right? And so, Thamalla came to Tuscaloosa. He has set multiple state records in his junior year as he led his team to its first state title in 15 years.

In total, the QB passed for 3,663 yards with a near 70% pass efficiency, giving just 3 interceptions. But for Thamalla, the talent was always there, and he also produced 2.800 yards as a sophomore in high school. In this process of producing these incredible yards, his teammate, Chase Loftin, who was earlier at Elkhart North, was also running havoc in his junior season. Loftin caught 34 passes for 440 yards in his junior year and transferred to Millard South for his senior season.

Standing at 6’6″ and 215 lbs, Loftin is also an incredible tight end commit for the Seminoles, who will probably redshirt and learn behind players like Landon Thomas. The two players visibly have a bond from their 2024 season, and the comment was a playful dig, as Chase Loftin seems to be pulling Thamlla’s leg. Maybe next season, when Thomalla comes in finally at Alabama, we can see the same battle but on the field, right?