Keelon Russell ended up under center for Alabama against Vanderbilt, and after the game Kalen DeBoer explained why the Tide stayed with him instead of turning to Austin Mack.
Russell had been dealing with an ankle injury, and ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Mack was expected to start while Russell rested the ankle. But Alabama stuck with Russell, and DeBoer said the quarterback kept trending in the right direction right up to kickoff.
“Every day he was getting better,” DeBoer said. “The last 24, 48 hours, a lot of improvement.
Probably just a few things early in the game I felt he wasn’t probably sharp on, as we expected, and ways we could have helped him out a little bit more, but as the game went on, in the middle of the 2nd, I felt like he was starting to kind of find his groove and in the 3rd quarter for sure. I think he did a good job because it showed up with the things that they’re doing, things that they were going to show us, that he was ready mentally for whatever he had to do, whether he was ready to step on the football field or not.”
DeBoer also said Alabama had Mack ready in case his number was called, and praised the way he handled the situation.
“I think we had to approach him, and I think pretty much all of us were approaching it that he had to be out there, be ready to go, and he was,” DeBoer told reporters. “That’s a hard spot for him to be in.
I just can’t give him enough credit. It’s a tough situation, but especially tough because I know he was working extremely hard to get out there and help our team win, and he was prepared to do that.
I think our guys saw that. That’s what you appreciate so much about him.”
Russell made the most of the start, throwing three touchdown passes in Alabama’s win over Vanderbilt.
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