Kalen DeBoer comments on considering a two-quarterback system

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

During SEC Media Days on Wednesday, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked about potentially using a two-quarterback system. While in the midst of a high-stakes quarterback competition, DeBoer dismissed the idea.

“I think it’s best done when you have one guy taking the snaps consistently,” DeBoer said.

After Ty Simpson made the move to the NFL after just one season as the Tide’s starting quarterback, DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb immediately had to begin scouting out who his replacement would be.

The staff has its pick of starting either Austin Mack or Keelon Russell. Mack is a redshirt junior with only two years of eligibility remaining but has decent experience. Russell, however, is a redshirt freshman with little experience but four years of eligibility.

Both have similar play styles and tons of potential, but came from two different places. Mack was not a very highly rated high school prospect, but he committed to DeBoer when he was at Washington, then followed him to Tuscaloosa.

Russell, on the other hand, was a five-star recruit and one of the highest-ranked in the country, regardless of position.

With such a tight battle between the two spanning months, over spring practices and A-Day, fans have been wondering when and what the decision will be, or if there was a chance that they’d be seeing both on the field in 2026.

However, it seems DeBoer is confident that only one of them will be getting most of the snaps.

“Ideally, yeah, we want to have the same quarterback start to finish,” DeBoer said. “I think, from a leadership standpoint, it’s more comfortable that way. Guys know what to expect, both the quarterback and the guys around him. You know, but we’ll see. We’ll see what happens as we go through both fall camp and the season.”