With Jalen Milroe off to the NFL, Kalen DeBoer has a big decision to make. The second-year head coach at Alabama will need to find a new starting quarterback to lead the Crimson Tide out of the tunnel on fall Saturdays in 2025. Will it be Austin Mack, Keelon Russell or Ty Simpson? Mike Rodak of 247Sports told ESPN's Paul Finebaum that it is still way too close to tell heading into spring practice.
When it comes to Mack, he has been in DeBoer's system the longest, having followed him over from Washington last offseason. He may be bigger in size than Russell and Simpson, but none of them have played very much. Simpson has been with the Alabama program the longest, so there is that. Russell is the prized recruit of this class. DeBoer needs to keep this close to the vest, but get it right.
While you and I and everyone else may be leaning in a different direction, here is how Ourlads sees it.
- Ty Simpson
- Austin Mack
- Keelon Russell
Listen to what Rodak had to say to Finebaum, and tell me if he thinks there is a clear front-runner now.
Three players are fighting for the @AlabamaFTBL QB1 spot, including one of the highest-touted recruits in the nation.@mikerodak breaks down the early action from spring camp: pic.twitter.com/APpx2AiBqy
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) March 4, 2025
To me, Russell might be a long shot due to youth, but it is not impossible that he ends up starting.
Alabama QB competition is heating up heading into spring practice
Regardless of what happens, I do not see Russell transferring after spring practice. His best shot at starting early in his college career is to work on his craft in Ryan Grubb's offensive system. Since Mack or Simpson may not have much ground on him, I would not be the least bit surprised if DeBoer went to him at some point in his freshman season. My biggest concern is who is going to transfer...
For my money, I have a hard time seeing both Mack and Simpson being part of this team beyond this season. If you roll with Mack, then Simpson is surely gone. He may have never lived up to his hype as a blue-chip prospect out of high school, but spending any more time in Tuscaloosa would be a colossal waste for him. Again, I think he might spend one more season as a backup with Alabama.
However, if you roll with Simpson, I think it sends a bad message to DeBoer's kind of guys. One of his kind of guys would be Mack, who followed him across the country. If he cannot start for the Crimson Tide, despite having the most experience in Grubb/DeBoer's offense, then what is the point? DeBoer would be sending mixed messages to his players, recruits and his fanbase. I could see it going poorly.
The best-case scenario might actually be Russell winning the job. It would be a youth movement, but it would be in line with DeBoer's kind of guys becoming more congruent with Alabama's kind of guys, which are five-star recruits. In the end, I think he ends up going with Mack based out of comfort and security. If Simpson wins out, then we might have a mess of problems our on hands in Tuscaloosa.
To put it as simply as I can, Alabama must make the College Football Playoff once in DeBoer's first three years on the job. He came up one spot short of making it a year ago with Milroe and mostly Nick Saban's players. While Alabama's ceiling is fresh in our memories, the floor may be dropping like Ben Stiller at the Oscars. This is not the time for a Severance procedure. DeBoer must finish Cold Harbor.
Russell is the best solution long-term, Simpson may be the worst and Mack sends mixed messages.