Will Alabama Name a Starting QB by End of Spring? Just a Minute

Ty Simpson was named the starting quarterback during fall camp heading into the 2025 season, but will Austin Mack or Keelon Russell have more of a head start?

Alabama quarterback Austin Mack prepares to take a snap in the second half of the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral assistant editor Katie Windham discussing Alabama's upcoming quarterback battle between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell.

Spring football is just around the corner in Tuscaloosa with A-Day less than two months away on April 11. As with any time there's a quarterback competition going on for the Crimson Tide, the biggest storyline this spring will be the battle between redshirt junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell.

Neither player as a ton of in-game collegiate experience, but Mack has now been in Kalen DeBoer's system for more than three years. Russell is the higher-rated prospect though.

Last year, it took until the early weeks of fall camp DeBoer to name Ty Simpson the starting quarterback. Could it be sooner this year? Will Alabama name either Mack or Russell the starting quarterback by the end of spring?

I don't think so. Even without a spring transfer portal window and no risk of the loser of the battle transferring at the end of spring practice, I still don't think Alabama will be rushing to name a starting quarterback.

There are obviously advantages to naming your guy early into the offseason. It gives him the confidence that he's the guy while also giving the rest of the team plenty of time to rally around him. But because neither player has a ton of experience, I think this thing will also need a little more time to iron itself out.

DeBoer has only been at Alabama for two seasons, and one of those two didn't have a QB competition as Jalen Milroe was the returning starter heading into 2024, so it is hard to fully know DeBoer's tendencies when it comes to a quarterback battle. However, when it comes to his general tendencies with the media around things like injuries, I doubt he will be in any sort of hurry to make it known to the public who won the job for the Crimson Tide.

Either way, I expect both players to stick with the program throughout the 2026 alongside freshman quarterbacks Jett Thomalla and Tayden Kaawa.