TUSCALOOSA, AL — If you want to understand Keelon Russell’s talent as a quarterback, close your eyes.
To hear Alabama safety Bray Hubbard tell it, you can hear a Russell pass.
“You can hear the ball sizzle when he throws it,” Hubbard told me last week.
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Alabama has one of the few true quarterback competitions in the SEC. The position battle will come into deeper focus when it plays its spring game on Saturday, April 11.
Perhaps I’m guilty of oversimplifying the situation, but it sure seems like the crux of this competition comes down to experience versus upside.
Coach Kalen DeBoer must choose between veteran Austin Mack and Russell, a redshirt freshman. Mack’s experience with DeBoer dates to their days at Washington. Russell committed to DeBoer as a five-star recruit, months after Alabama hired him to replace Nick Saban.
Alabama quarterbacks Austin Mack (10) and Keelon Russell (12) throw during practice in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Aug. 19, 2025.
Russell barely played last season, because why burn his redshirt when Ty Simpson held down the starting quarterback spot? Mack served as Simpson’s backup and got his most extensive playing time in the second half of a Rose Bowl blowout.
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To further assess this competition, let’s return to a guy who’s charged with defending their passes.
“They both can throw the ball a mile and hit literally every throw in the book,” Hubbard said. “… Austin, he does a really good job of commanding the offense. Keelon is a younger guy. Austin has been in the system (longer), but I will say, Keelon has got a cannon. He gets us all the time with some balls. I’m like, ‘Wow, that takes a really impressive arm to throw.’ ”
This competition will give us insight into what DeBoer values most in a quarterback and just how much experience sways him. Neither quarterback is a stiff, but Russell (6-foot-3, 194 pounds) earns especially high marks for his mobility and the way he moves in the pocket. Mack is a few inches taller and a little thicker (6-6, 235), but moves well enough, too.
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Mack made the most of his mop-up duty in Pasadena, California, completing 11 of 16 passes against Indiana in the CFP quarterfinals.
The game was a lost cause by the time Mack entered it, but as DeBoer puts it, Mack “was not lost.”
“He belonged out there,” DeBoer said of Mack. “And Keelon’s talent speaks for itself.”
Whoever wins the job must prioritize getting the ball to Ryan Coleman-Williams. How would the Alabama wide receiver assess each quarterback’s respective strengths?
“Really, I would say, Keelon’s playmaking, just making a busted play look exactly how it’s supposed to go,” Coleman-Williams said. “For Mack, it’s definitely his ability to just know ball. He got to sit under (Michael) Penix. He got to sit under (Jalen) Milroe. He got to sit under Simpson — three very different guys who have been successful in different ways. Being able to see that from different angles, it helps him.”
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DeBoer wouldn’t tip his hand other than to say last week we shouldn’t expect a starter to be announced soon.
As for what might ultimately tilt the scales, he’s looking for the quarterback who’ll provide both big-play ability and ball security.
“You need big plays. You need playmakers,” DeBoer said. “Along with that probably comes a little bit of a swagger that your team has because of how your quarterback plays. But you also have to make sure you aren’t losing games because of the big mistakes.”
In the meantime, if you want to get a fuller sense of the quarterback competition, close your eyes and listen.
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama football quarterback competition: Here’s the latest intel
