On Tuesday, Kalen DeBoer accomplished one of his and his staff’s primary objectives in the 2026 recruiting cycle, acquiring two quarterbacks. After flipping Jett Thomalla from Iowa State earlier this summer, Alabama landed a commitment from another four-star QB, Tayden Kaawa, beating out Boise State and BYU.
Kaawa becomes the 20th member of the 2026 recruiting class, which, with his commitment, jumped from No. 6 in the country to No. 4, leapfrogging Notre Dame and Texas. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Hawaii native, who plays his high school football in Orem, Utah, is the type of big-bodied, strong-armed passer that offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has thrived with in the past.
He, along with Thomalla, also represents a significant insurance policy for the program’s long-term outlook at the position and the future of another QB who fits the same description.
Tayden Kaawa and Jett Thomalla are crucial depth if Keelon Russell forces Austin Mack and Ty Simpson into the transfer portal
DeBoer has been reluctant to name redshirt junior and former five-star Nick Saban recruit Ty Simpson his starting quarterback for the 2025 season. However, he has repeatedly stated, during spring practices and at SEC Media Days, that if Alabama had a game tomorrow, Simpson would be the first to take the field.
Why the uncertainty? It’s easy to view it as DeBoer leaving the door open for five-star true freshmen and the No. 2 overall quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class, Keelon Russell, to overtake Simpson and win the job outright.
While Simpson may be the best option to lead the 2025 Crimson Tide, it will be incredibly difficult for him to keep Russell glued to the sidelines for long, nor should DeBoer want him to.
Russell is a remarkable talent, a high-level thrower with an arm that can threaten every level of the defense both from the pocket and on the run. He’s the rare athletic quarterback who prefers to dissect defenses with his vision and his arm, but is more than capable of being a 1,000-yard rusher in the SEC. He’s the type of quarterback that raises the ceiling of your roster, no matter the talent around him, and DeBoer has assembled enough talent in Tuscaloosa to have championship expectations even before Russell fully develops.
So, if Russell ascends to the starting role for 2026, or it begins to look apparent that he’s going to, the best and perhaps only course of action for Simpson and Austin Mack, who followed DeBoer from Washington, is to head to the transfer portal in search of starting jobs before their eligibility runs out. Even if Simpson retains the job into next season, Mack will likely be headed out the door.
That type of exodus could have threatened to leave Alabama’s quarterback room bare behind Russell. That’s why it was paramount for DeBoer to land two quarterbacks in the 2026 class, despite currently having one of the deepest QB groups in the country.