Alabama doesn't have a clear-cut starting QB for the 2026 season yet. Despite the consistent narrative that redshirt freshman Keelon Russell has surged ahead and is the favorite to start, redshirt junior Austin Mack is very much alive in the battle and will compete with Russell throughout fall camp to earn the job.
Despite the battle, it's obvious that the QB position is in good hands no matter who wins the job. Both Mack and Russell are capable, and the ceiling for both appears to be pretty high. Russell is already generating some dark-horse Heisman Trophy buzz.
There's little doubt that Kalen DeBoer has built one of the nation's most impressive quarterback rooms. That is, unless you work for CBS Sports.
Blake Brockermeyer offered his list of college football's Top 10 QB rooms for CBS this week. Alabama was nowhere to be found. Baffling.
CBS Sports baffles with exclusion of Alabama from Top 10 QB rooms in college football
Not only should Alabama be in the Top 10, but they have a legitimate argument to be No. 1. From a pure talent standpoint, which QB room is actually better? Mack was a 4-star recruit and a Top 100 overall player. Russell was a 5-star and the No. 2 overall player in his class. Further down the depth chart is 5-star true freshman Jett Thomalla, who adds impressive star-quality depth that other programs can't match.
Brockermeyer's rankings went as follows:
- Oregon
- Texas
- Utah
- Ole Miss
- Ohio State
- LSU
- USC
- Miami
- Houston
- Notre Dame
Brockermeyer doesn't give a reason for leaving Alabama off, but it's clear that he favored QB rooms with a proven starter leading the way. But a ranking of quarterbacks and QB rooms is two separate things. If you want to say Utah's Devon Dampier is a more proven QB than either Mack or Russell, then you'd be right. If you say that Utah has a better QB room top-to-bottom than Alabama, you'd be a fool.
The best part of this list will be looking back at it after the season and laughing after either Russell or Mack establishes themselves as one of the country's elite signal-callers. Whoever loses the job will then become arguably the top backup quarterback in the country, and you're unlikely to find a more talented third-string option than the 5-star freshman in Thomalla.
Alabama has plenty of question marks heading into the 2026 season, but the QB position isn't one of them. One of Russell or Mack will emerge as an elite option for DeBoer, and the depth down the roster far exceeds what other programs can offer.
Add us as a preferred source on Google