Alabama Football Spring Finale Shows Quarterback Battle Still a Three-Man Race

The Crimson Tide program finished spring practice in front of the fan base, allowing the public to see inside the quarterback battle.

Bama Football / Alabama Athletic

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Alabama Crimson Tide football program concluded its spring practice season on Saturday with the 15th practice. The two hour practice featured numerous intriguing prospects for the 2025 season but none garnered more attention than the trio of Crimson Tide quarterbacks vying for the next season's starting role.

Redshirt junior Ty Simpson led the Crimson Tide signal callers as the most veteran of the trio, but Simpson didn't get significantly more work than redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and early enrollee Keelon Russell all saw significant action in front of a sparse crowd in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Simpson protected the ball the best as Mack was intercepted twice and Russell once in team like settings but the veteran offered a shade lower completion percentage on the afternoon than his counterparts.

Alabama's passing offense provided the highlight of the afternoon, but it was Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard who launched a double pass into the air to Isaiah Horton, who skied over several defenders for the reception and then broke away for a score.

GERMIE BERNARD AIRS IT OUT

The senior gets the screen from Ty Simpson and finds Isaiah Horton down the field for a 70 yard touchdown. Biggest highlight from A-Day so far.

Will we see this play in the 2025 season? pic.twitter.com/kU5AfDOgv9

— Theodore Fernandez (@TheoFernandez__) April 12, 2025

"They're all at different points," Kalen DeBoer said in March after the first spring practice session of the year. "Few things procedure-wise that were a little different. Good to see those guys all operate through that. They had their times where, of course, they looked really good and times where they got to continue to grow and get better."

The Crimson Tide head coach uttered those words to open spring practice and they're just as applicable as the program closes spring and tries to endure a spring transfer portal window that could tempt any of the three to bow out of the race.

Saturday's action showed the Alabama quarterback room is full of potential, but provided visual evidence to substantiate DeBoer's comment's from this week.

"A lot of is, we want that playmaker," DeBoer said on Tide 100.9'sThe Game with Ryan Fowleron Thursday evening. "I don't want just a game manager out there. If we're going to win at the level we want to win at, we want a guy that's going to produce. Make the big plays. Obviously, there's a piece, too, where you can't make the big mistakes. We all know that, especially in the critical moments –– whether it's in the red zone, end of games, half or things like that."

All three quarterbacks were given limited opportunities on Saturday to show off their arm talent in controlled settings and all three showed flashes of talent but each showed the room for growth that DeBoer highlighted last month.

Simpson protected the football well but struggled to push the ball downfield. Mack's arm talent is clear, but he struggled with his accuracy at times and was intercepted by a lurking defender. Russell's arm had the most zip, but he has zero college experience and is still considered undersized by traditional standards, despite gaining significant weight already this spring. Russell's first pass of the day was intercepted, but he went on to have a strong practice as he showed some of the playmaking ability DeBeor is looking for in his next signal caller.

Alabama's altered A-Day provided fans with ample opportunities to see the Crimson Tide quarterbacks as the rotation was high, but dissecting the play on the field brings DeBoer's comments into focus and shows the Crimson Tide quarterback battle is no clearer today than the start of spring practice.

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