Kalen DeBoer pressed for who will be Alabama’s backup quarterback behind Ty Simpson

After an extensive quarterback competition at Alabama, head coach Kalen DeBoer landed on Ty Simpson to lead the Crimson Tide offense. Now, there’s the question of who is going to be the backup quarterback in Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer has options for his backup. Both Austin Mack and Keelon Russell pressed Simpson for the starting job. Now, despite naming the starter, DeBoer doesn’t want to name a backup just yet.

“We won’t really get into that as far as who’s the second,” Kalen DeBoer said. “These guys are going to keep competing. That’s for every position. So, right now, there’s balance between in some things we do, the reps, but there’s certainly coordination on who’s getting those reps as well.”

Austin Mack came to Alabama as a transfer from Washington, following Kalen DeBoer ahead of last season. Prior to that, he’d been a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023. He was also the 16th-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle. Last season, in one game, he completed two of three pass attempts for 39 yards and a touchdown.

For his part, Keelon Russell was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2025. A native of Duncanville, Texas, he was the second-ranked recruit and the second-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle. Now entering his true freshman season, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has already been impressed by the young quarterback.

“You know, Coach [Nick] Sheridan and, you know, Coach DeBoer did a phenomenal job recruiting [Keelon] and, you know, I thought their assessment when I got here was spot-on. He’s a very composed player. Very young player. And, even when it’s not perfect and things aren’t going Kee’s way, I think he’s able to just slow the game down, and I think that that’s something that’s, you know, somewhat innate and you just do,” Grubb said.

“And, so, I think, when you can build and then you continue to build on the knowledge base and understanding of the system? He’ll just keep getting better. He’s a really, really calm, excellent player with great vision.”

The hope for Alabama is that they’ll never need to go to a backup quarterback this season and that Ty Simpson both plays well and stays healthy. If that’s the case, then there isn’t likely going to be a need for the Crimson Tide to ever go to a backup. At the same time, it’s not uncommon for teams to need to test that depth over the course of a season.

Alabama opens the season on August 30th against the Florida State Seminoles. Later, SEC play opens up on September 27th with a road test against the Georgia Bulldogs.