With Ty Simpson off to the NFL Draft, Kalen DeBoer and Alabama will be breaking in a new quarterback yet again in 2026.
And with college football now entering offseason mode, ESPN began to preview the upcoming campaign by predicting who will be the starting signal-caller at every Power 4 program (and Notre Dame).
ESPN’s Eli Lederman, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg teamed up to dissect a plethora of quarterback competitions, and the situation in Tuscaloosa was one of them.
The analysts believes that Keelon Russell, a highly touted prospect in the 2025 class, will ultimately win the starting job, citing his raw talent and the fan base’s support as major reasons why.
Russell, ESPN’s No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2025 cycle, arrived as the gem of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s first signing class in Tuscaloosa. Sitting behind starter Ty Simpson and backup Austin Mack, Russell completed 11 of his 15 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns across appearances in blowout wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Eastern Illinois. Russell has been viewed as the Crimson Tide’s quarterback of the future from the moment he stepped on campus last January. With Simpson headed to the NFL, he has a clear path to the starting job in 2026, provided Russell can edge Mack and the relative experience of the fourth-year passer.
Austin Mack will certainly challenge Russel as the more experienced signal-caller, and DeBoer is making it clear that he wants to create strong depth in his QB room as well.
Mack beat out Russell for the backup job last summer, and if the program’s recent quarterback battles under DeBoer are any indication, the Crimson Tide might wait until late August to officially name a starter. Alabama doubled up on quarterbacks in the 2026 recruiting cycle with signatures from No. 5 pocket passer Jett Thomalla and three-star Tayden-Evan Kaawa.
Hailing from Duncanville, Texas, Russell stands at 6-foot-3, 194 lbs. and was tabbed as a future NFL prospect while he was still in high school. With plenty of pressure facing the coaching staff this upcoming season, DeBoer & Co. certainly hope Russell lives up to that billing.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
