This season, Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide are scheduled to play with the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison in Week 3 on September 14. But before that game was upon them, the Tide wanted some pep talk from the former Wisconsin legend JJ Watt who also went on to have an illustrious NFL career as a 3X Defensive Player of the Year, among other accomplishments. So they invited this A-list athlete to be one of the fall camp speakers among others like Hunter Pinke and Mark Ingram. 

JJ Watt accepted the invitation to visit Tuscaloosa to meet the players and coaches and speak to them ahead of their season kickoff. Although the retired NFL defensive end showed love to Alabama, he still made it clear on a hilarious note that he’s a true Wisconsin supporter. His graciousness was met with gratitude by Alabama’s new HC Kalen DeBoer. 

Following his speech at Alabama, the Crimson Tide football thanked JJ Watt, highlighting his achievements. Their official website posted clips of Watt speaking and engaging with the players with the caption, “Huge thanks to @JJWatt for visiting and speaking to the team.” Kalen DeBoer reposted the tweet adding his own words of appreciation saying, “Such a great message from @JJWatt! Thank you for sharing with our team some of the experiences and knowledge you’ve gained over your great career!”

Always a good sport, JJ Watt gave an epic response to Alabama Football’s tweet by sharing and dropping some spices. He acknowledged the gratitude from Alabama while also adding a humorous touch to show that he’s a true Badgers legend. The 5X First Team All-Pro said, “It was a pleasure. Very engaged and attentive group with some great questions as well. I appreciate the invitation and wish you luck every game except September 14th!” What a sport this future Hall of Famer is, right? But seriously, Alabama needs all the luck they can get for their upcoming season which isn’t exactly an easy schedule. 

Alabama has a tough 2024 schedule 

According to 247Sports, Alabama has the top 15 toughest schedules among college football teams for this season. This is what their schedule looks like – WKU, USF, at Wisconsin, Georgia, at Vanderbilt, South Carolina, at Tennessee, Missouri, at LSU, Mercer, at Oklahoma, and Auburn. Five of these games are on the road, four SEC games and one non-conference game against Wisconsin, their first road game against a Big Ten program in more than a decade. 

Still, the toughest game is predicted to be against the Georgia Bulldogs on September 28. As an SEC powerhouse and 2X National Champions, Georgia has some of the best coaches and players like HC Kirby Smart and QB Carson Beck. This is followed by games against LSU and Missouri, which are also predicted to be tough. Kalen DeBoer is more than ready to take on Nick Saban’s position, implementing his own traditions for Alabama. Hopefully, 2024 will be a honeymoon season for Coach DeBoer.