Spring practice is over in Tuscaloosa, and the Dog Days of summer are ahead of us.
While Kalen DeBoer and his coaching staff will be hard at work with a plethora of critical official weekend visits to come for the 2027 recruiting class, there are still plenty of question marks for the current team coming out of the spring.
That's not abnormal, but with a young team and the normal sky-high expectations that come with Alabama football, DeBoer still has his work cut out for him.
With a major vote of confidence from Greg Byrne to the tune of a contract extension that takes him completely off the hot seat, DeBoer will look to take another step forward in Tuscaloosa and bring Alabama back to national title contention.
To do so, these three unknowns need to be sorted out.
The 3 biggest questions facing Kalen DeBoer and Alabama heading into the summer
3. Will Alabama take a step forward in the trenches on both sides of the ball?
There's plenty of exciting talent at the skill positions on offense and in the defensive backfield, but if Alabama wants to take a step forward back into title contention in 2026, it'll have to get better up front on both sides of the ball.
A lot of that focus has been on the offensive line, and Kalen DeBoer practically burned the OL room to the ground just to rebuild it with a new coach in Adrian Klemm and 11 new faces from the portal and the high school recruiting class combined.
Alabama appears to have sorted out three starters on the offensive line in the spring with Michael Carroll, Jackson Lloyd, and Cal Poly transfer Racin Delgatty. Finding the other two starters among a talented group of candidates will be pivotal.
On the defensive line, Big Ten transfers Devan Thompkins (USC) and Terrance Green (Oregon) look like immediate difference makers out of the portal, but organic growth from returners like London Simmons, Jeremiah Beaman, Steve Bolo Mboumoua, and Edric Hill, among others, would go a long way in Alabama being more stout against the run and holding up in the always physical SEC.
2. Who starts at QB between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack?
Redshirt freshman Keelon Russell emerged from spring practice as the presumptive favorite to win the starting job, but the battle between him and redshirt junior Austin Mack is far from over. It'll be a key summer as Russell adjusts to life as the favorite and Mack adds the extra motivation of lagging a little bit behind.
Either should be able to effectively run DeBoer and Ryan Grubb's offense, but which quarterback can ultimately limit the mistakes while raising the ceiling will be the one who takes the first snaps of the season. The battle could ultimately extend into the season, however, with Alabama opening up against East Carolina.
1. Can Alabama run the football better in 2026?
Alabama ranked 132nd out of 136 FBS programs in rushing success rate in 2025, per Game on Paper. There's a legitimate case to be made that it was the worst rushing performance in the history of the program.
Regardless of who wins the starting quarterback job, the offense won't be among the nation's best if the Crimson Tide can't run the ball more effectively and find some offensive balance. It doesn't have to throw it back and perform like the heyday of Derrick Henry or Mark Ingram, but being a real threat to run the football will open things up for the passing game.
Unfortunately, stud freshman EJ Crowell missed the majority of the spring with an injury, which cost him valuable reps. On the positive end for incoming freshmen, Trae'shawn Brown was a revelation in the spring and could compete for carries with returners Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley, and AK Dear.
The offensive line will have to come together for it to matter, but Alabama needs a true difference-maker to emerge in the running game for the offense to reach the heights it has the potential to.
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