A quarterback fight is brewing in Tuscaloosa, with Ty Simpson, Keelon Russell, and Austin Mack competing for Alabama’s starting quarterback position.
This duel will surely get a lot of attention because it is the Tide’s second year under Kalen DeBoer. The fact that the outcome is currently unknown, combined with the three competitors’ lack of experience, adds to the intrigue of the conflict.
Quarterback competitions in recent Alabama history have gone in different directions, with Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, and Bryce Young beating out their older counterparts for the starting job, and Jalen Milroe and Mac Jones taking advantage of being the most experienced Alabama signal callers to win the QB1 title.
This battle, like several before it, might go in a variety of directions, but Ty Simpson is now the odds-on favorite, and it is his battle to lose.
Simpson is a former five-star quarterback from Tennessee who will be a redshirt junior by 2025. He will be Alabama’s most seasoned quarterback by two years in the autumn, providing him an advantage in the experience category.
The Alabama quarterback only played in six games during the 2024 season, therefore he did not earn many relevant snaps. However, he served as the Tide’s top backup in front of Dylan Lonergan and Austin Mack. Lonergan has gone to Boston College, but Mack has stayed with the Tide.
With Mack frequently being the last quarterback off the sideline in his limited appearances, Simpson is thought to be ahead of him.
Then there’s Keelon Russell. The former five-star Duncanville High School graduate is an early enrollee.
Can a freshman quarterback win the starting job?
Absolutely. However, he will need to understand the system and acquire the trust of Alabama’s coaching staff and teammates before he can acclimate to the faster pace of college football compared to high school football. He’ll have seven to eight months to accomplish so.
Freshman quarterbacks have begun and achieved success in major college football for elite institutions. Trevor Lawrence and Jalen Hurts are excellent examples, but this is still unusual.
No club in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff started a true rookie at quarterback.
The spring will be critical for all three quarterbacks because it will allow one of them to get ahead of or separate from the others in the competition.
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