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Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer gives murky update on QB battle between Keelon Russell, Austin Mack appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Alabama football is going to be under the microscope this season after back-to-back disappointing finishes to start the Kalen DeBoer era. The Crimson Tide missed the College Football Playoff in 2024 with Jalen Milroe at quarterback before getting crushed in the CFP quarterfinals last season with Ty Simpson at the helm.
Now, as the calendar nears August, DeBoer doesn’t yet know who is going to be his starting quarterback when the 2026 season gets underway. Keelon Russell and Austin Mack have been battling for the starting spot throughout the spring, and that competition is set to continue well into fall camp.
On Wednesday at SEC Media Days, DeBoer offered an update on the most-watched quarterback competition in the country, via Mike Rodak of 247 Sports.
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“I’d love to have the guy decided already. I think that’s a benefit. But that’s not the case,” DeBoer said, pr Rodak. “I think it comes to the timing — you want to [have a starter named] a couple weeks before the season starts, and last year that’s what we went in with, but we made the decision earlier than that. Ty had separated himself. We’ll see how this goes. Rep-wise we want to balance it out between the two of them as much as we can.”
Mack served as Simpson’s backup a year ago while Russell was third on the depth chart. The senior entered the Rose Bowl in relief of Simpson after the first-round pick left the game with an injury, and one would think that experience gives him an upper-hand in this competition.
However, Russell is a former five-star recruit who is widely viewed as one of the top quarterback prospects in all of college football. The Texas native could be a future NFL quarterback if he pans out at the college level, so it may be tough for DeBoer and company to turn down that kind of potential.
The Crimson Tide will get their 2026 campaign underway on Sept. 5 against East Carolina before the schedule heats up with games against Kentucky and Florida State in Weeks 2 and 3.
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