Of course, the most intriguing part of A Day going in for Alabama fans as well as the media was how the Alabama quarterbacks were going to perform. From everything we have read and seen, it definitely feels as though Keelon Russell seized the opportunity to separate himself from Austin Mack. I have never really bought into the storyline that there is a true quarterback competition going on in Tuscaloosa. Russell was recruited to be the guy under center, and I've always felt that he was going to be the starter in 2026 unless injury or development issues arise.
Of course, the coaching staff will tell you the competition is ongoing despite the difference in performance during Saturday's A Day Game, and it is probably a good thing that there is no spring portal any longer, or Mack may very well have gone into the portal to find a place where he might actually have a legitimate chance to be a starter. We will be lucky to have a quarterback like Austin on the roster if needed in 2026, but hopefully that will be more for mop-up duty and nothing more serious.
Clearly, this is my own opinion, and I may not be anywhere near correct in my quarterback assessment, but his performance in front of a bigger audience, as well as words from the likes of Ryan Coleman-Williams, further push the narrative that Keelon Russell will be the guy out the gate Week One against East Carolina.
It felt like a huge win in the winter when we got confirmation that he was coming back for another year, and obviously, that commitment from him, as well as NIL commitment from Alabama to him, was not for him to sit much longer, if at all. Russell just has the it-factor and appears to be on the right trajectory to be a star quarterback for the Crimson Tide, which has not really been seen since Bryce Young.