Kalen DeBoer isn’t new to quarterback battles. From Fresno State to Washington to Alabama, he’s had to make some tough calls. But as the Crimson Tide enter the 2025 season without a clear QB1, DeBoer is making one thing crystal clear: talent alone won’t win the job.
On a recent episode of Always College Football with Greg McElroy, DeBoer dove into what he’s really looking for. And spoiler—it’s not just about who throws the prettiest deep ball.
“They’re all on the right track. They’re all super invested,” DeBoer said of Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and Keelon Russell. “I talked about a healthy competition and who they are as people. They are finding their ways to lead in their own way.”
For DeBoer, it’s leadership that might end up separating these three. That’s no small task when you're trying to take command of a locker room without stepping on your teammates’ toes. Still, the expectation is that one of them has to emerge—not just as a player, but as a voice the rest of the team is willing to follow.
“They need to speak up,” DeBoer said. “That’s when you really find out who are the guys that the team... follows along. Not just the players on the field, but who they are as leaders.”
Keelon Russell may have started out behind the others in terms of reps, but he’s been earning more and more as the offseason progresses. Meanwhile, Simpson and Mack each bring something different to the table—Simpson as a mobile dual-threat, Mack as a big-bodied passer with surprising agility.
But as DeBoer pointed out, none of them are truly battle-tested yet. “None of them have taken this overwhelming number of college snaps,” he said. “We’re trying to keep them moving, speed up the process for all of them.”
The most fascinating part of DeBoer’s approach? He’s not looking to fit a quarterback into his system—he’s going to mold the system around the quarterback he chooses. That worked with Jake Haener. It worked with Michael Penix Jr. And it sort of worked with Jalen Milroe, though on a smaller scale.
For Game 1, we'd predict that Ty Simpson will be the quarterback. But, it still wouldn't be surprising to see that change before the end of the season.