Alabama finally got clarity in a quarterback race that’s been quietly bubbling under the surface all spring—and that clarity came in a way few predicted. With Kalen DeBoer running his first spring as HC in Tuscaloosa, and Ryan Grubb installing his offensive blueprint, the Crimson Tide emerged from the fog of three QBs with a frontrunner. Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and freshman Keelon Russell were all in the mix, but one name pulled ahead. And DeBoer made something else abundantly clear: there won’t be a two-QB system. Alabama’s going with one guy. But that doesn’t mean the story ends here.
What Kalen DeBoer said about the one who didn’t win the job just yet says a lot about the program’s future. Austin Mack. The redshirt sophomore followed DeBoer and Grubb from Washington to Alabama and was once viewed as the most seamless system fit in the room. While questions swirled about whether Austin Mack might jump into the transfer portal after not being named the leader of the pack, DeBoer delivered a firm and composed message about the young QB’s standing and mindset.
“I’m not gonna speak for Austin, but I do have a really good relationship with him,” DeBoer said on The Next Round Live. “Have been with him now, this will be year three. And he knows he’s got some elite football ahead of him. And he’s really getting the most reps he’s ever had here this spring. Last year he was in the mix, but really you had more of Ty [Simpson] and Jalen [Milroe] and then even Dylan [Lonergan] was taking more reps than he was.”
That right there—“the most reps he’s ever had”—matters. Because reps in spring camp aren’t just about practice throws – they’re about installing trust, rhythm, and tempo within a new system. And even if Mack isn’t taking the first snaps right now, he’s very much in the thick of development.
DeBoer continued: “He sees the growth. He sees the development. We got a lot of great hard workers on the football team, he’s near the top of that list, as far as just the work he puts in. So I’m excited for him. I know there’s a trust that has to exist between coach and player – I think that’s growing and existing with all three of the guys, because they all did start with a different starting point, as far as Austin coming with us, Keelon being recruited by us, and then of course Ty, the experience we had with him last year.”
