Alabama is preparing for a new era at quarterback, now that former starter Ty Simpson has departed after being selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. It is still unclear who will take Simpson's place at the helm, with a neck-and-neck battle between redshirt junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell continuing to ensue.
Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer was recently asked about the situation by Ben Flanagan of AL.com, and he didn't offer much of an answer.
“I don’t have that news ready,” DeBoer said. “Sorry... but just not quite there yet. So, need to wait. We need to wait a little bit, probably into fall camp, probably before the season starts.”
While it hardly gives the type of definiteness Alabama fans want to hear, it is understandable given that fall camp is still a few months away.
Alabama quarterback battle set to continue through fall camp, Kalen DeBoer indicates
No decision has been made on who will be Alabama's starting quarterback in 2026, and it is hard to predict at this point who will get the job.
And perhaps the bigger question is not who will be the starting signal-caller, but if Alabama has a bad problem at the position. DeBoer himself has said he views the situation as a good problem, but also admitted he wasn't blown away by Mack or Russell after the annual 'A-Day' scrimmage.
The head coach indicated that neither of them had met the standard, but that he expected them to continue to grow in a big way as the offseason marches on. For whatever a spring game is worth, Russell did outperform Mack by a large margin. But, that may need to be taken with a grain of salt, as DeBoer said the reason why the redshirt junior was limited to just five drives was due to injury.
Still, it was Russell's show, as he wowed the crowd with four touchdowns, completing 20 of his 32 passing attempts for 229 yards. Russell stood tall in the face of pressure and showed the ability to both evade it and make a play anyway in those situations.
Austin Mack vs. Keelon Russell will be a QB battle through fall camp
Looking ahead to the season, Alabama has a decision to make. It can go with the ceiling, or the floor. DeBoer has a lot of familiarity with Mack, who followed him from Washington to Alabama when the coach took the job in Tuscaloosa. Mack is just 19 years old, but he enters the fourth season of his college football career.
The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder has patiently held the clipboard and studied DeBoer's system for a long time while waiting his turn. In addition to bringing the prototypical size and physical traits you want to see in SEC quarterbacks, Mack has also shown reliability and accuracy in what little action he has seen in Alabama.
Over five appearances, Mack has completed 74% of his passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Russell presents more upside than Mack does as a prospect, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks he has the lower ceiling between the two.
He's a lot more green in terms of time spent at the college football level, but he has certain elements of athleticism and elusiveness that Mack doesn't have, which gives an extra edge to the offense and makes it harder for defenses to contain him. Whether Alabama chooses to tap into that potential now or allows Russell to develop and utilize it later is something only time will determine.
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