While other programs in the SEC fight amongst themselves for transfer portal quarterbacks, with Lane Kiffin going so far as to chase after his top choice, Sam Leavitt, the Alabama Crimson Tide are confirmed in their convictions.
Kalen DeBoer put to rest much of the speculation about who will start under center for the Crimson Tide in 2026 on Friday. Well, maybe not exactly who, but we know the top two choices.
There will likely be a two-man competition for the job Ty Simpson leaves behind as he declares for the NFL, as the program’s two brightest young QBs re-signed with the Crimson Tide for the 2026 campaign.
Sophomore Austin Mack, out of Loomis, California, will be back with DeBoer for his third season, having methodically moved up the depth chart since being recruited. In 2025, despite limited playing time, he was highly accurate, completing 24 of 32 passes for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Although there will be no transfer coming in to challenge him more than likely, he might have even a more challenging task on his hands.
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Keelon Russell, the five-star, perfect-rated quarterback by 247Sports, is returning to Tuscaloosa and is vying for the starting job in his second year.
Russell is a prodigy at the QB position and has one of the highest ceilings of any Alabama signal caller in the 21st century.
In the two games he got time to play early on in the season, Russell was what you expected from someone with all the tools to become a future NFL first-round pick. He completed 11 out of his 15 attempts, threw for 143, and had a pair of touchdowns of his own.
Mack should come into spring practice as the projected starter, but Russell has the chance to be a generational talent. It would surprise no one if the 18-year-old out of Texas won the starting position in a year where DeBoer doesn’t need to just make the College Football Playoff — he needs to earnestly contend for the national title.
Or it might not be only Russell looking for a new program in 2027. It might be the head coach as well.
The transfer portal officially closes on Jan. 16, 2026.
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