Alabama’s quarterback race finally has a winner, and Josh Pate thinks the ripple effect could be bigger than just the depth chart.
Kalen DeBoer named Keelon Russell the Crimson Tide’s starter on Saturday, closing the door on a battle with Austin Mack that stretched through spring practice and both fall scrimmages. After seeing Alabama up close before the announcement, Pate came away convinced the job went to the quarterback who could keep more plays breathing.
On his Sunday College Football Show, Pate said he spent time with Alabama’s staff and watched both passers work. His read on the two was pretty clear: Austin Mack “looks like a giant” and “throws that ball hard,” while Keelon Russell “just makes more stuff happen” and “the play stays alive longer” when he has the ball.
For Pate, the separator was Russell’s ability to create. “Elite arm in terms of talent, elite mobility, really good at extending plays, really good at the second reaction stuff, really good at creativity, sharp player,” Pate said of Russell.
Bryan Ellis, Alabama’s quarterbacks coach, made a similar point through Yea Alabama, the program’s NIL entity. “He's the guy that we know when the ball is in his hands, a lot of good s--- can happen,” Ellis said.
DeBoer had been holding off on a final call for weeks. After Alabama’s second scrimmage, he kept it simple: “We can go win with either one of them.”
Pate said what he saw changed his view of Alabama’s ceiling for 2026. Before that week, he said, “I was probably leaning more 8-4, 9-3 range with Alabama going into the past week.” After weighing the quarterback battle and the roster around Russell, he settled on 10-2.
He pointed to a defense he believes can carry plenty of weight. Pate called Alabama’s secondary “one of the best in the country” and said the defensive front is “much bigger” than it has been in past seasons. He also highlighted freshman running backs EJ Crowell and Tawn Brown as players who can help take pressure off a first-time starter.
“They don't need 40 points per game this year,” Pate said.
Russell, a five-star recruit from Duncanville High School in Texas, already has a little game experience under his belt. Last season, he played in two games and completed 11 of 15 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
Mack, meanwhile, came to Alabama with DeBoer from Washington and stepped in for an injured Ty Simpson in the Rose Bowl against Indiana.
Alabama opens the season at home against East Carolina on September 5, then turns to SEC play the following week at Kentucky.
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