Early look at Alabama football’s quarterback competition for 2026 season

3/5/25 MFB Spring Practice 2 Alabama Quarterback Ty Simpson (15) Alabama Quarterback Keelon Russell (12) Alabama Quarterback Austin Mack (10) Photo by Kent Gidley

In the blink of an eye, Alabama football has another quarterback battle on its hands after Ty Simpson announced his intentions to declare for the NFL Draft.

This battle will open as likely a four-man race between Austin Mack, Keelon Russell, Jett Thomalla and Tayden Kaawa. Mack and Russell will be the favorites to win this battle out the gate, due to their experience in Kalen DeBoer’s system.

Mack has spent three seasons under DeBoer and two seasons under the Tide’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. The 6-foot-6 quarterback transferred to Alabama from Washington after DeBoer became the Tide’s head coach. While he was not officially listed as the Tide’s primary backup quarterback on its official depth chart, he was the first quarterback off the sideline behind Simpson during the 2025 season.

The California native was thrust into meaningful playing time in the Rose Bowl when Simpson went down with an injury. He flashed some potential by throwing for 103 yards while completing 11 of his 16 pass attempts, and he also showed he can be an effective runner when he needs to, but he ultimately displayed he still has room to grow before he is ready to take the reins as QB1 against a tough Indiana defense.

AUSTIN MACK WITH A STRIKE #PMSCFP pic.twitter.com/3oesoyV0qw

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 1, 2026

Russell is the former five-star. He is the signal caller many members of the Alabama football faithful feel is the future of Alabama football. He has always looked the part, flashing the skillset that many of the top quarterbacks in college football and the NFL possess with his athleticism and effortless throwing motion. Those are just a few of his skills he has used in the past to make some dynamic plays.

The true freshman only saw playing time in two games this season, but he was highly efficient in his limited action. He completed 11 of his 15 pass attempts for 143 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in those games.

Keelon Russell was everything advertised
and then some pic.twitter.com/2ZtRkuJBby

— Nick Perkins (@NickyPerkss) September 7, 2025

However, an important note to keep in mind ahead of this quarterback competition is what was mentioned earlier. Russell essentially served as the Tide’s third-string quarterback in 2025, despite not being designated as so on Alabama’s depth chart. This could be how this battle gets rolling, with Mack a step ahead of Russell.

Thomalla and Kaawa will definitely get their shots to make a push to win this battle, but a lot of obstacles will stand in their way. Both are talented quarterbacks with potential. It will be quite interesting to see what type of noise they make in the spring and in fall camp.

Alabama will have a new QB1 in Tuscaloosa in 2026, and this quarterback competition is sure to be a major talking point throughout the offseason.