Throughout the 2026 recruiting cycle, Kalen DeBoer has had multiple different quarterback targets in the class. One that included Alabama as a finalist before the Tide were able to flip four-star Jett Thomalla from his Iowa State commitment was four-star and highly-touted baseball recruit, Matt Ponatoski from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ponataski’s two-sport aspirations complicated his recruitment, but as DeBoer sought out his potential future QB, Alabama head baseball coach Rob Vaughn got on board, with both programs offering Pontaski. However, on Monday, Ponatoski announced his commitment to Kentucky.
BREAKING: Four-Star QB Matt Ponatoski has Committed to Kentucky, he tells me for @rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 6, 2025
The 6’2 195 QB from Cincinnati, OH chose the Wildcats over Oregon, Alabama, & Arkansas
Will play baseball as well
“All Glory to God…Big Blue Nation, let’s do it”https://t.co/BsYop6wxaD pic.twitter.com/He9cXkJVkc
Kalen DeBoer likely only adding one QB to the 2026 recruiting class
Alabama got off to a slow start in the 2026 cycle, but that’s far in the rearview. DeBoer has once again asserted himself as one of the premier recruiters in the country with a 19-commit class that currently ranks 5th in the country. His June surge included the Thomalla flip, and now it appears as though the four-star from Omaha, Nebraska, will be the only quarterback he takes in the class.
Along with Ponatoski, Alabama also ramped up its pursuit of four-star Tayden Kaawa in June, but that has seemed to cool in recent weeks. Kaawa, a Honolulu native who is playing his high school football in Utah, is being heavily recruited by BYU. Kaawa could still be a possibility for the Tide, but easing up on Ponatoski ahead of his UK commitment seems to indicate that DeBoer, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, and quarterback coach Nick Sheridan are pleased with the addition they’ve made.
Thomalla impressed at the Elite 11 Finals, but is ultimately the type of developmental project that the staff was looking for behind 2025 five-star Keelon Russell. The Transfer Portal can always throw a wrench in things, but Alabama’s likely plan at QB is to have Ty Simpson start for 2025, with the veteran winning a QB battle over veteran Austin Mack and Russell. Then, Russell will take the reins in 2026 and lead the team for two seasons before leaving the NFL. When Russell takes the job, Simpson and Mack will likely transfer away, leaving Thomalla as a primary candidate to back up Russell early in his career before his chance to ascend into a starting role after Russell begins his NFL career.
The Transfer Portal isn’t the only potential source of chaos in that multi-year plan. It can be a fool’s errand to plan that many steps ahead, especially in Tuscaloosa, where DeBoer could be on the hot seat if he manages to miss the College Football Playoff this year. Still, when you land a player like Russell, you need to have an ideal career trajectory for that player in mind, and that is the best guess at DeBoer’s.