Ryan Grubb: Alabama has 'two of the best quarterbacks in the country' on 2026 roster

Alabama will have a new starting quarterback in 2026. But when Ty Simpson announced he was entering the NFL draft, the Crimson Tide didn’t use the transfer portal to find a new starter behind center. Alabama likes what it returns at the position, particularly its play-caller.

“I think a lot of people were waiting to see what we do in the portal, and with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, we got exactly who we need,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb told WAKA Action 8 News at the ALFCA convention last week.

“They’re two of the best quarterbacks in the country.”

With Alabama losing its starting quarterback to the draft, both of its backups chose to return and compete for the first-team vacancy behind center. And while the Crimson Tide added a couple of other signal-callers to the room, it’s expected to come down to Mack and Russell, who have experience in this offensive system, and both saw the field as reserves last season.

Mack is now the oldest quarterback on the roster, as he will enter his fourth year at the college level and third at Alabama after following Kalen DeBoer and company from Washington. Now a redshirt junior, Mack was the Tide’s first quarterback off the bench this past season, and he threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-32 passing (75%) in four games.

Russell was the first high school quarterback to commit in the DeBoer era, and the former 5-star recruit preserved a year of eligibility by only appearing in two games this fall. Russell saw the field against ULM and Eastern Illinois, and the true freshman threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-15 passing (73.3%). Both touchdown passes came against ULM.

Grubb spoke highly of Russell, now a redshirt freshman for Alabama, at the ALFCA convention.

“Keelon’s special,” Grubb said. “He’s got incredible vision, mindset, and just his intelligence on the field is special.”

It remains to be seen who will win Alabama’s quarterback battle, and while DeBoer said it was huge to get both Mack and Russell back for the 2026 campaign, he did not tip his hand when he spoke to reporters in Montgomery last week. It will be a true competition in Tuscaloosa.

“You always love going into a season where you absolutely know who your quarterback is. But that won’t be the case. We’ll let these guys battle it out,” DeBoer said at the ALFCA convention. “Both guys have a year minimum in our system, understand what we’re trying to accomplish. We’ll tweak what we do around their strengths and make the adjustments this year to what they can do and what our other personnel can do. 

“But Austin’s certainly known the system. This is Year 4 for him. And Keelon’s shown what he can do, putting his nose in there as a true freshman and really doing a lot of great things, as well. So, these guys certainly have what it takes, and now, it’s just a matter of who can do the best job of moving the ball up and down the field for us.”

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