The race to be Alabama football's starting quarterback in 2025 is the most intriguing storyline from spring practice in Tuscaloosa. With Jalen Milroe moving on to the NFL, the Crimson Tide has a void at the position, a void it hopes is replaced with more consistent play out of the position. Alabama will need that in order to get back to the College Football Playoff after missing last season.
Kalen DeBoer and new OC Ryan Grubb will be picking from a trio of talented scholarship QBs. Redshirt junior Ty Simpson, redshirt sophomore Austin Mack, and true freshman Keelon Russell are battling it out. No starter has been named, and no decision appears imminent, but former Tide signal-caller turned college football analyst Greg McElroy seems to think one player is separating himself from the pack.
On his podcast "Always College Football" on Monday, McElroy declared that he is hearing that Simpson is leading the way.
“Right now, based on my understanding of what’s going on in Tuscaloosa, is that Ty has had a solid camp, McElroy said. ”He is in firm control of the No. 1 job so far that the other two, between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, those are the ones that are kind of competing for that No. 2 spot right now."
(Quotes via Nick Kelly's article on AL.com)
It shouldn't be a surprise to hear that Simpson is leading the way in the spring. He is the most experienced of the pack and the only one of the three that has taken any non-garbage-time game reps at this level.
Russell is the most talented QB on the roster, a fact that no one would refute, but expecting him to be on the same level as Simpson after just a handful of practices was never realistic.
That doesn't mean things won't change, however.
Kalen DeBoer unlikely to name a starting QB in spring
Even if what McElroy is hearing is true, and I'm sure he's pretty plugged in, DeBoer has no reason to rush a decision. Even if Simpson is overwhelmingly the best quarterback, naming a starter now only serves to alienate the other two who are competing for the job.
There's another Transfer Portal window coming soon, and with only three scholarship quarterbacks, Alabama cannot afford to lose one.
For that reason, don't expect DeBoer to name a starter anytime soon. He'll let this competition drag as long as he can, at least in the media, even if everyone inside the building knows who is at the front of the line.