Alabama’s quarterback situation for 2026 is still unsettled, but the talent piled into Kalen DeBoer’s room is impossible to ignore.
Redshirt freshman Keelon Russell has picked up plenty of momentum and is widely viewed as the favorite, yet redshirt junior Austin Mack is still very much in the mix. The two are set to battle it out through fall camp for the starting job, and either way, Alabama looks set at the position.
Russell has already started drawing dark-horse Heisman Trophy buzz, while Mack brings his own credentials to the competition. He was a 4-star recruit and a Top 100 overall player, and Russell arrived as a 5-star prospect and the No. 2 overall player in his class. Behind them, 5-star true freshman Jett Thomalla gives the Crimson Tide another layer of elite depth that most programs can’t come close to matching.
That’s why CBS Sports’ latest ranking of college football’s top 10 quarterback rooms turned heads. Blake Brockermeyer released his list this week, and Alabama was nowhere on it.
The top 10 from Brockermeyer came out as Oregon, Texas, Utah, Ole Miss, Ohio State, LSU, USC, Miami, Houston and Notre Dame.
He didn’t explain the omission, but the ranking appears to favor teams with a clearly established starter. That makes some sense if you’re talking about individual quarterbacks.
Utah’s Devon Dampier may be more proven than either Mack or Russell right now. But when the discussion shifts to quarterback rooms as a whole, Alabama’s case gets a lot stronger.
This isn’t just about who starts in 2026. It’s about the depth, the ceiling and the talent stacked across the room.
Alabama has both of the top contenders, plus a 5-star freshman waiting behind them. That kind of talent pool is hard to match, and it makes the Tide’s exclusion from the top 10 look shaky at best.
By the end of the season, this list could age poorly in a hurry if Russell or Mack turns into one of the country’s top signal-callers. And whoever comes out on the wrong end of the battle may still end up as one of the best backup quarterbacks in college football, with Thomalla giving Alabama a rare luxury at third string.
The Crimson Tide have questions heading into 2026, but quarterback isn’t one of them. One of Russell or Mack should emerge as a high-level option for DeBoer, and the depth behind them gives Alabama a room that stacks up with anyone.
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