If Mike Norvell is right, Alabama could have its hands full with Squirrel White (again) in Week 1

Alabama kept Florida State out of the final four-team College Football Playoff two years ago, and now the Seminoles will finally get a chance for revenge in Week 1 with the Crimson Tide heading to Tallahassee. Both programs look completely different, and through that roster churn, the Alabama defense will have to contend with a player who tormented them during the 2023 season. 

Florida State put on as disastrous an encore performance to its 13-1 2023 season as anyone could have imagined. Mike Norvell’s Seminoles sank to 2-10 last year. So, a head coach who typically relies on the Transfer Portal to construct his roster was forced to make even more changes this offseason. 

One of the additions Norvell is most excited about is former Tennessee wide receiver Squirrel White. Norvell spoke about White in the lead-up to Week 1, and though he was a non-factor on the Third Saturday of October last fall, Alabama fans may still have bad memories of his time in Knoxville. 

If Squirrel White is back to full health, he could be a problem for the Crimson Tide

White battled injuries throughout the entire 2024 campaign, unable to shake a nagging ankle problem that limited him to 381 yards and two touchdowns on 34 catches. However, in 2023, his best year with the Vols, White posted a career-high 10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown in a 34-20 loss to the Crimson Tide. 

On that day, then Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton targeted White 12 times, and none of Alabama’s defenders had an answer for him. That included matchups the undersized slot receiver drew against Alabama linebackers, Jihaad Campbell, Dallas Turner, Chris Braswell, and Deontae Lawson. That could provide a blueprint for first-year FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn on how to utilize his new weapon. 

Last season, Alabama’s worst defensive performance came against Vanderbilt and Diego Pavia. FSU quarterback Thomas Castellanos poses some of the same issues Pavia did, with his mobility and frequent use of play-action putting linebackers in conflict on nearly every play. Castellanos and Malzahn will attempt to replicate that with White as the primary beneficiary in the passing game, and though Alabama is a near two-touchdown favorite, that won’t be a simple riddle for defensive coordinator Kane Wommack to solve. 

The key for the Crimson Tide might be keeping White from hitting an explosive play. Even in that 2023 performance, he managed barely over 10 yards per reception. Wommack should be able to live with that on Saturday, and if the Alabama offense can’t answer, then the Tide have even bigger problems. 

The matchup with White will be interesting to watch, especially with Alabama toying with the idea of sliding sophomore cornerback Zabien Brown to the slot, because if White is back to 100 percent, he’ll be quite the test in Week 1.