Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer delayed naming his starting quarterback at the conclusion of spring practice after losing last year’s QB1, Ty Simpson, to the NFL in April. Sophomore quarterback Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell are at the forefront of the Crimson Tide’s QB1 battle.
Analyst Outlines Kalen DeBoer’s Likely QB1 Next Season
During Monday’s segment of the “Crain & Cone” podcast, analyst Josh Pate predicted that Russell would win the QB1 battle over Mack and that the redshirt freshman would offer a higher upside to the improved Crimson Tide than Mack.
“They are Oklahoma to me in a sense that if I draw a bubble, they’re on the fringe of it,” Pate said. “I think Keelon Russell’s gonna win the job there. At his best, he can be a superstar. At their best, that offensive line comes together, their run game is pretty good. Not elite, but their top end is pretty good, which is good enough.
“The big takeaway that I have from watching them this spring is, they are way more dynamic athletically, they are bigger up front defensively, but it’s all gonna fall in line for them. If their efficiency levels remind you of Washington 2023, then they can win it. If not, they can’t.”
While Mack was limited by an undisclosed injury during Alabama’s spring game last month, Russell dropped an impressive performance, which was unofficially tallied at 21-of-33 for 240 yards, resulting in four touchdowns and one interception.
DeBoer Throws Down Offseason Challenge to QB1 Candidates
While speaking to reporters during the Regions ProAm Tournament two weeks ago, the beleaguered DeBoer used Simpson as an example to challenge the candidates fighting for the Crimson Tide’s QB1 position.
“They know that a year ago there was so much improvement by all of them, and I think that was – even with Ty (Simpson), going from the spring to the fall, he came back and made another big jump,” DeBoer said.
“And that’s what I would expect out of these guys, is as good as they did and a nice job that they had performing this spring, I’d expect for them to take another big leap here in the summer.”
Mack entered spring training with the advantage, having played in DeBoer’s system for three seasons, since following the coach from Washington when he succeeded Nick Saban at Alabama. In his first season in Tuscaloosa, Mack lost the battle to become Jalen Milroe’s backup to Simpson and lost last year’s QB1 battle to Simpson.
When Simpson left the Crimson Tide’s Rose Bowl loss to the Indiana Hoosiers, Mack distinguished himself with a composed performance against the eventual champions, going 11-of-16 for 103 yards. In total, he tallied 228 passing yards on 75% completion, resulting in two touchdowns, while adding 22 rushing yards and one score.
