Y’all thought Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs were the biggest threat to Kalen DeBoer? Well, think again, cause on the other end of the road, the Vols are gearing up for a solid match against the Crimson Tide on October 19th. DeBoer indeed has some different level of skill in him. He took a struggling team like Sioux Falls and got them 3 wins at the national championship. He also mentored Michael Penix, and he went on to win the Heisman Cup. Not only that, DeBoer changed the game for the Huskies and Fresno State when he was there. No wonder he was selected as Nick Saban’s replacement. As Joel Klatt put it, “This guy wins at an insanely high level everywhere.” 

However, even the greats can fumble sometimes. Every analyst out there had thought that 4-star LB Jaedon Harmon was going to settle down in Alabama. On On3, there was even a 96.8% prediction supporting Harmon joining the Tides. Come August 18th we found out from Hayes Fawcett on X that Harmon has switched his commitment and joined the Vols for the 2025 class. On3 was the first to report back in April that Hermon would be committing to Alabama. Hermon himself had said that. “I feel like Bama will be a great place to accomplish that,” the kid had noted during an interview. Apparently, during his tour of the facilities and the camp, he loved the fact that the Tides pushed their players to be the best. One of the key moments he enjoyed was having a good conversation with Tides DC Kane Wommack.

And yet here we are. This entire thing is bound to make any college football fan want to watch Tides go down and dirty with the Vols on the field. Vols HC, Josh Heupel himself, had mentioned during the SEC Media Days that he would be waiting for the Tides. “We’ll be ready for Saturday in October,” Heupel had noted. Nick Saban had a massive 15-win record against the Vols which Heupel finally managed to break back in 2022 with a 52-49 at Knoxville. However, Saban came right for the throat next year and snatched the win away with Tides going 34-20. So, with Saban now retired, can Heupel deal with the monster that Kalen DeBoer has crafted?

Against the Tides

Alabama’s scrimmage brought us a glimpse of what we can expect from the team after the season starts off. QB Jalen Milroe managed to shock everyone after he landed a 50-yard touchdown after connecting with Ryan Williams. DeBoer is hell-bent to make Milroe the next Heisman winner and it could actually come true. Does the Vols have someone to stop Milroe from rushing the field?

Enter DL James Pearce. While appearing for 26 games for the last 2 seasons, Pearce already managed to get voted as a 2023 First-Team All-SEC standout. That kid already has 21 solo tackles under his belt along with 12 sacks. When the Vols went up against Iowa back during the 2024 Citrus Bowl, Pearce managed to intercept a touchdown. He is already being called the No.1 NFL draft pick by 247Sports. Could this be Heupel’s answer to DeBoer? Well, we sure gonna find out soon enough.