2026 Alabama Crimson Tide Position Preview: Quarterbacks

A full breakdown of a quarterback battle for the ages between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell.

The University of Alabama Quarterbacks during practice at Thomas-Drew Practice Fields in Tuscaloosa, AL on Sunday, Mar 8, 2026. | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

Alabama was the epicenter of college football in 2018 long before that season even kicked off.

That January, quarterback Jalen Hurts was benched at halftime of the National Championship Game against Georgia with the Crimson Tide trailing 13-0. Freshman Tua Tagovailoa filled in and led the comeback overtime victory to give UA its 17th title.

Both Hurts and Tagovailoa stayed at Alabama during the offseason, which prompted the question: who will be the starter? Hurts was 26-2 in two seasons as the starter before Tagovailoa stepped up when it mattered most. And after a long summer battle between the two, Tagovailoa was named the starter for the 2018 season.

Alabama has had a handful of quarterback competitions since then, but none were as close as that one. Fast forward to 2026, the Crimson Tide has another two-man battle on its hands, and the white smoke from the chimney of the Mal Moore Athletic Facility won't be visible anytime soon.

Debates across the college football world have surrounded senior Austin Mack and sophomore Keelon Russell over the last several months. They both played for the Crimson Tide last season behind starter Ty Simpson, but now Simpson is in the NFL. It's a common cycle, especially at Alabama, but the 2026 QB1 job was being argued by fans while Simpson was still under center.

After coaching the Crimson Tide's tight ends the past two seasons, Bryan Ellis is now Alabama's quarterbacks coach. Ellis was moved to this new assignment following former quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan taking the offensive coordinator job at Michigan State (former Louisville assistant Richard Owens is now Alabama's tight ends coach).

Nevertheless, Ellis is no stranger to mentoring the commanders of the offense, as he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Georgia Southern in 2022 and 2023. He also held very similar titles at Western Kentucky and USC. This included the development of former Trojan and reigning Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold in 2018.

Ellis has a major task in his first season as Alabama's quarterbacks coach, as he'll play a role in determining the winner of the ongoing competition between Mack and Russell. Neither option has ever started a game, and while they have some similarities in their play styles, they differ in size, experience and athleticism.

Mack was one of the many Washington players to transfer to Alabama after Kalen DeBoer took over as head coach. He was Ty Simpson's primary backup last season, and accumulated 228 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 24 of 32 attempts in four games.

This includes when Simpson "cracked" his rib late in the first half of the Rose Bowl loss to Indiana, as QB2 subbed in and completed 11 of 16 pass attempts for 103 yards and led the Tide to its first and only points of the day via a field goal by Conor Talty.

"Every game I kind of just tell myself, 'Be Ready,' and I've never been surprised," Mack said after the Rose Bowl. "Anything could happen and I knew I was one play away from getting in the game. So when they told me I was getting in the game, it was just like, 'Let's go and let's just play ball.'

"It was the moment, I was ready for. It was something I had been preparing for the whole season. Something I put a lot of work in to get to. Obviously, it's a big stage — the Rose Bowl against the No. 1 team — but I was ready for it."

Russell appeared in two games last season during blowouts and completed 11 of 15 pass attempts for 143 yards and two touchdowns. His accolade as the 2025 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year has made him a fan favorite for this year's QB1 spot.

Alabama's 2025 quarterback battle lasted quite some time, and naturally, the three-man race had to be whittled down to two before making the final decision for the Week 1 job. Russell was the first one eliminated from the competition due to his lack of command in the huddle.

Russell was a true freshman at the time, while eventual starter Ty Simpson was a redshirt junior and Austin Mack was a redshirt sophomore. These two had the experience of relaying a call in the huddle at the college level, while Russell did not. Even though he didn't see much time on the field in 2025, Russell has a year under his belt. So how was his command in the huddle during the spring?

"Yeah, I tried to put my nose in there and just hear exactly that as much as I can, whether it's today or throughout the week," DeBoer said April 3 after Alabama's second scrimmage. "He's almost to the point now where he doesn't have to think when he says it.

"And now he's got to slow down to make sure everyone is very clear, which is a good problem to have, right? You know, just being articulate and not rattling through the calls, which at one point he might mess up the call. It's not perfect yet, because there's new installed plays that he's just had first reps."

Like most A-Day spring scrimmages, all eyes were on Alabama's 2026 quarterback battle on April 11. Simply put, Keelon Russell had the edge over Mack. Russell completed 21 of 33 pass attempts for 242 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Mack went 6-for-12 for 101 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

But as the numbers suggest, Russell had significantly more reps. DeBoer didn't go into specifics, but he did say after A-Day that Mack was limited due to being "dinged up a little bit." Regardless of the injury, the college football world made Russell the frontrunner for the starting spot, but DeBoer wanted them to pump the brakes then and the same is said for now.

"I know that both of them would say what they know now versus what they knew a year ago, I think especially in Keelon's case when it comes to football knowledge, understanding of the offense, understanding how you attack a defense, defensive structure, I think their reps have helped them really take these big jumps, especially early in the last five months," DeBoer said at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.

"So I think last year helped them, too, with the reps we give them. We're very intentional with how we distribute them, and so I think skillset-wise you're talking about a much taller, bigger quarterback with Austin. Austin I think will surprise people when he really gets out and runs because he runs very well; better I think than most people think.

"Keelon is versatile that way, you know, has created with his legs as a high school football player. You can see it at times. It's hard to replicate in practice and a guy is not live. But both of them are more than capable. I think they're high-level, elite quarterbacks. Fortunately we have them both in our program and it's going to be a competition that's going to lead to a tough decision, one we're fortunate to have.

"It's going to be one that when we do make the decision we'll be confident we'll do a great job. They are two guys that are well respected by our entire football team because of how they work, who they are as people, and the production and what they look like on the football field."

Given how close the battle is, DeBoer explained at SEC Media Days that a two-QB system won't be an option because he wants a consistent leader controlling the offense. Beyond the throwing accuracy and the playbook mastery, DeBoer shared some of the game management and leadership traits he's relying on to determine who will get the first snap, but "poise" is his top priority.

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, Mack/Russell's play-caller, shared his thoughts on the quarterback battle back in March, giving his own criteria for picking a starter.

"Obviously, Austin is in his third year in the system, so you'd think just as far as ease of being able to run and have control, that should be advantage Austin," Grubb said. But I would say Keelon's extremely intelligent and that's not been an issue, it's not an eliminating factor for him.

"But at the end of the day, it's about who has the most production. Who is the best guy on the field taking care of the football, going down the field, scoring touchdowns? Both of those guys are very capable leaders, so I think it's pretty even. But I mean, certainly the guy that has the ease of being able to run that, especially with so many younger faces around them, they have to make everyone right around them."

This will be a hard-fought battle up until DeBoer and company name a Week 1 starter, but this will be an iron-sharpens-iron operation.

"Whether it's Austin or me, I feel like we're going to have the best opportunity for our offense," Russell said before the Rose Bowl. "We're going to be competing all year, all season, all offseason. But I feel 100 percent that if it's going to be me or Austin, the offense is going to be in great hands.

"We're both competitors, we both love the game, we're both going to be in and out of the facility. It's going to be fun. I want to win the starting position, but like I said, whether it's me or Austin, I feel like it's going to be a great season no matter what."

This is a two-man race, but three other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster will be striving for some playing time and to capitalize on it. This includes two freshmen and a sophomore.

Freshman Jett Thomalla might have the strongest case to be the Tide's third-stringer. The 6-foot-4, 209-pounder has been committed to Alabama since June 17, 2025 — the day he flipped from a two-month Iowa State commitment. The former 4-star prospect is ranked as the No. 4 quarterback in his class, as he threw for 3,484 yards and 58 touchdowns while completing 72.6 percent of his pass attempts en route to winning the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year Award.

Tayden-Evan Kaawa, the other freshman quarterback, will likely be one spot behind Thomalla. The 6-foot-5, 238-pounder committed to the Crimson Tide on July 22, 2025, as a three-star recruit and was the No. 22 quarterback in his class. He's from Hawaii but played at Orem High School in Utah, where in the last two seasons as the starter, he combined for 5,475 yards, 63 touchdowns and 19 interceptions while completing 62 percent of his passes.

Even though John Gazzaniga is older than Thomalla and Kaawa, he'll likely be fifth on the depth chart because he received a scholarship in the offseason after spending his freshman year as a walk-on. The 6-foot-7, 245-pounder joined Mack and Russell plus wide receivers Ryan Coleman-Williams and Derek Meadows in California for a summer workout. Gazzaniga is from California and was a three-star prospect in his class.

Projected Depth Chart

1. Austin Mack OR Keelon Russell
2. Loser of the QB1 battle
3. Jett Thomalla
4. Tayden-Evan Kaawa
5. John Gazzaniga

2026 Alabama Quarterbacks

Note: The NCAA eliminated redshirts during the summer, meaning Alabama lists its players as either a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, fifth-year or sixth-year on the official roster. Additionally the roster hasn't been updated yet with new measurements, so the ones below are from the spring.

Austin Mack – Senior, 6-6, 232

Served as the primary backup for starter Ty Simpson last season, and accumulated 228 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 24 of 32 attempts. He played in four games, including most of the second half of the Rose Bowl loss to Indiana in the CFP quarterfinal (11 of 16 for 103 yards). His experience could play a role in DeBoer and company's final decision.

Keelon Russell – Sophomore, 6-3, 201

Was a part of the 2025 quarterback battle alongside Simpson and Mack, but was the first to fall out of the race. Russell appeared in two games last season during blowouts and completed 11 of 15 pass attempts for 143 yards and two touchdowns. His accolade as the 2025 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year has made him a fan favorite for this year's QB1 spot.

Jett Thomalla – Freshman, 6-4, 229

Flipped from Iowa State to Alabama after being committed to the Cyclones for just under two months. Was a 4-star prospect and 247Sports' No. 36 overall player, No. 4 quarterback and No. 1 athlete in Nebraska.

Tayden-Evan Kaawa – Freshman, 6-5, 238

Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, the former 3-star recruit was Rivals' No. 22 quarterback and No. 7 prospect in the state of Utah, where he played football at Orem High School. He chose UA a month after the offer.

John Gazzaniga – Sophomore, 6-7, 245

Earned a scholarship in the offseason after serving as a walk-on during his freshman campaign. He took a few snaps during the 56-0 win over Eastern Illinois, and almost every play was a handoff. He completed his lone pass attempt for one yard.

This is the first story of BamaCentral's summer position previews series. We're providing an in-depth look at every position group through the rest of July.

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