With Ty Simpson heading to the NFL and forgoing his final year of eligibility, the door swings wide open for one of the most intriguing quarterback battles Alabama has seen in recent memory. Two names are front and center: redshirt junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell - a rising star who finished as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class.
Now, in today’s college football landscape - where the Transfer Portal has become as important as the playbook - it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Alabama dip into the market for a proven veteran. After all, this is a pivotal Year 3 for head coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff, and the pressure to win big is very real.
But that’s not the route they chose. Not even close.
Instead, Alabama doubled down on what they already have in the room. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb made it clear: they’re not chasing experience in the portal because they believe they already have two of the best quarterbacks in the country.
"I think a lot of people were waiting to see what we do in the portal," Grubb said in a recent interview. "With Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, we got exactly who we need."
That’s a bold statement - and one that tells you everything you need to know about how this staff views their guys.
Let’s start with Mack. He’s the veteran in the room, entering his fourth year in Tuscaloosa.
He’s been in the system, knows the offense, and was Ty Simpson’s top backup throughout the 2025 season. When Simpson went down in the Rose Bowl, it was Mack who stepped in to run the show.
That kind of experience matters, especially in the SEC, where the margin for error is razor-thin.
But don’t sleep on Russell. He may be younger, but his upside is enormous.
A former low-end 4-star who flipped from SMU to Alabama, Russell exploded during his senior year of high school, earning a fifth star and skyrocketing to the No. 2 overall player in the country. He’s a dynamic talent - the kind of quarterback who can make something out of nothing and change the complexion of a game with a single play.
If he takes a big leap this offseason, this could get very interesting, very fast.
Whoever wins the job will have earned it. This isn’t going to be a ceremonial passing of the torch - it’s a real competition. And that’s exactly how this staff wants it.
And the pipeline doesn’t stop there. Alabama also signed Jett Thomalla in the 2026 recruiting class - now a 5-star in his own right.
Much like Russell, Thomalla was an early evaluation gem. He was originally a lightly recruited 4-star committed to Iowa State before Alabama came calling.
Then came a monster senior season that vaulted him up the rankings.
Sound familiar? It should.
That’s almost exactly how Russell’s story played out the year before. Two straight years of identifying under-the-radar quarterbacks before the rest of the country caught on - and then watching them explode into elite prospects.
That’s not luck. That’s a coaching staff that knows what it’s looking for.
So while the outside world may have expected Alabama to chase a transfer quarterback, DeBoer and his staff stayed the course. They trust their evaluations, they trust their development process, and they trust the guys they’ve brought in.
And if they’re confident in rolling with a first-time starter in 2026, Alabama fans have every reason to be confident, too.