Who will take the first snap for Alabama when the Crimson Tide open up the 2026 season against East Carolina?
As Alabama prepares for fall camp, the competition for the starting quarterback role between senior Austin Mack and sophomore Keelon Russell remains wide open.
“Both of them are more than capable,” DeBoer said on Wednesday at SEC Media Days. “I think they’re high-level, elite quarterbacks. Fortunately, we have them both in our program, and it’s going to be a competition that’s going to lead to a tough decision, one we’re fortunate to have.
“It’s going to be one that when we do make the decision we’ll be confident we’ll do a great job. They are two guys that are well respected by our entire football team because of how they work, who they are as people, and the production and what they look like on the football field.”
With Ty Simpson off to the Los Angeles Rams as a first-round NFL Draft pick, Mack and Russell are competing for a starting role in the Crimson Tide offense. Both quarterbacks possess the ability to lead the Alabama team to victory after making ‘big jumps’ this offseason. Age is a big contrast between the two quarterbacks, and on Wednesday DeBoer listed other differences between the two quarterback candidates.
“You’re talking about a much taller, bigger quarterback with Austin,” DeBoer said. “Austin, I think, will surprise people when he really gets out and runs because he runs very well; better, I think, than most people think.”
“Keelon is versatile that way, has created with his legs as a high school football player. You can see it at times. It’s hard to replicate in practice, and a guy is not live.”
Despite the differences, there is one big quality that DeBoer is looking for out of his starting quarterback.
“Poise,” DeBoer said. “A guy that can move the ball up and down the field. I said it earlier, but our quarterbacks do have the belief and trust amongst our entire team. There are different ways where I’ve seen that, whether it was in the spring or through the summer.”
“There are different conversations, different activities that we do where I really can get a good feel of it being genuine, that our team trusts that whoever steps on the football field and takes those snaps is going to be a guy, and I think that’s because they believe in both guys.”
DeBoer has said that he would like to decide on a starter after the team’s second preseason scrimmage. Until then, the quarterback competition will most likely continue.
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