Austin Mack or Keelon Russell? The latest intel on Alabama's quarterback competition
Alabama has one of the few true quarterback competitions in the SEC. The battle will come into deeper focus when it plays its spring game.
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.
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.
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 . [ This column first published in our SEC Unfiltered newsletter , emailed free to your inbox.