Kalen DeBoer shares thoughts on upcoming QB battle between Keelon Russell, Austin Mack
By David Wasson
Published:
The Alabama Crimson Tide will be heading into the 2026 spring football season with a truly open competition at quarterback – as redshirt freshman Keelon Russell and redshirt junior Austin Mack will use every ounce of the 15 spring workouts to determine who will replace Ty Simpson under center in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who will enter his third season with the Crimson Tide with a third starting quarterback after Jalen Milroe and Simpson started in 2024 and 2025, said that while he would rather have an established starter already in place he and the Tide coaching staff will be ready to adjust.
“You always love going into a season where you absolutely know who your quarterback is, but that won’t be the case,” DeBoer said to reporters earlier this week. “We will let these guys battle it out. Both guys have a year, minimum, in our system, and understand what we are trying to accomplish.
“We will tweak what we do around their strengths and make the adjustments to what they can do and our other personnel can do. Austin certainly has known the system, as this is year four for him. And Keelon has shown what he can do, putting his nose in there as a true freshman and really doing a lot great things as well. These guys certainly have what it takes, and now it a matter of who can do the best job of moving the ball up and down the field for us.”
Alabama will open the 2026 season against East Carolina on Sept. 5.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
