Alabama reportedly struggle to declare QB1 amid Keelon Russell, Austin Mack battle

Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide are walking into the 2026 college football season with a lot to prove. First things first, though, the Crimson Tide must name their starting quarterback for the upcoming NCAA campaign. As things stand, however, parity prevails as Austin Mack and Keelon Russell battle for the No. 1 role.

“I promise it’s close. I vow to you it’s close,” Josh Pate stated on the Josh Pate’s College Football Show. “I would say the highest-profile quarterback battle in the country right now [is] happening at Alabama. It’s very much up in the air. There are shades of gray here. There is no definitive one way or the other.”

Maybe not to this extent, but an evenly matched quarterback battle was to be expected in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer and the Crimson Tide knew that ever since Ty Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. According to reports, Mack and Russell are neck and neck, and even DeBoer admitted he is far from reaching a definite answer.

DeBoer’s honest message on QB1 battle

“I don’t feel closer [to making a decision on the starting quarterback],” DeBoer said, via Sports Illustrated, after Alabama’s first fall scrimmage. “As the scrimmage went on, both [Simpson and Mack] got better. Had their moments early where they could have executed better. They could use some help from some guys once in a while. They’re not going to be perfect all the time.”

Austin Mack (left) and Keelon Russell (right).

Alabama still has time before making a decision. However, the sooner DeBoer and company can figure things out, the better. After all, there’s a reason why the old idiom exists that having two quarterbacks on a team means a team has no quarterback. Alabama will start the 2026 NCAA season on Sept. 5 against the East Carolina Pirates at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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Alabama schedule in 2026

Whether Russell, the second-year quarterback in Tuscaloosa, or Mack, the more experienced Washington transfer who followed DeBoer to Alabama, will start remains uncertain. However, the Tide already know whom they will face throughout the 2026 college football campaign.