Quarterback competitions at the University of Alabama tend to dominate offseason headlines whenever they occur, but especially so when they precede a make-or-break season in Tuscaloosa.
And so, with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell currently battling for the starting gig, head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked frequently about the status of the competition during his SEC Media Day appearance on Wednesday.
In contrasting the signal-callers, DeBoer first pointed at the difference in experience–specifically within Alabama‘s system–but also called attention to how far Russell has come in terms of the mental side of the game.
“They’re guys that are in different years as far as Austin going into his fourth in this system, Keelon going into his second, so a little bit of a difference there,” DeBoer said. “I know that both of them would say what they know now versus what they knew a year ago, I think especially in Keelon’s case when it comes to football knowledge, understanding of the offense, understanding how you attack a defense, defensive structure, I think their reps have helped them really take these big jumps, especially in the last five months.”
And while Russell is the known as more of the dual-threat, DeBoer reminded fans that Mack is more than capable of extending plays with his legs as well.
“I think skillset-wise you’re talking about a much taller, bigger quarterback with Austin. He will surprise people when he really gets out and runs because he runs very well; better I think than most people think,” DeBoer said. “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.”
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In the end, the competition figures to rage on into fall camp, and regardless of the outcome, DeBoer believes the Crimson Tide locker room had already bought into both players as leaders.
“It’s going to be one that when we do make the decision we’ll be confident we’ll do a great job,” DeBoer said. “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.”
Parker is currently the sports editor for Gulf Coast Media in Foley, Alabama. 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.
