Every coach’s approach is different. Some, like former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, have said publicly that waiting too long to name a QB1 can hurt the player. Others, like Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, prefer to keep that decision right up to the start of the season. His latest comments did little to clear the dilemma.

“I’m not ready,” Kalen DeBoer said in an appearance with Greg McElroy. “I’m not ready. I think the thing to say is that we do have two guys that you always talk about the… I talk about the ceiling for some of these guys, but also, I think it’s also what’s the floor?” 

What DeBoer is really saying is simple: he wants both quarterbacks to feel like they can win the job, not like one has already won it. He’s not hiding his plan; he’s pushing the pressure onto the players to prove themselves in practice, not in interviews. For him, true clarity at QB comes only when the team has seen it on the field, not on a TV screen. Kalen DeBoer admitted both Keelon Russell and Austin Mack are capable of running Alabama’s offense. And frankly, his dilemma is understandable, and so is his strategy. 

“And I think knowing that, hey, at the very least we’re at this point, like it leaves a lot of optimism on what that room’s going to be and what it’s going to lead to as far as the production on the football field each and every Saturday,” he said. 

Last year, Alabama dragged the QB competition deep into fall camp. It was less than three weeks before the opener against Florida State that Kalen DeBoer finally named Ty Simpson as the starter on Aug. 11. Even now, that’s his preferred approach. And if you listen to what he said about this style way back in the summer of 2025, you’ll understand why he thinks like that.  

“There’s been a similar kind of timeframe throughout fall camp,” he explained back then. “The last week and a half, we usually have a little bit longer of…We call them bonus practices leading up to week one. There’s a weekend before and then a few days before that. There is kind of when you’d really for sure like to have the starter named and him be able to start really being in sync with his receiving core, gel in that way and really dialing on the reps.”

Also, why would Kalen DeBoer want to rush it if this approach is for the greater good? These QBs are offering two completely different pathways for Alabama’s offense. Keelon Russell, the former 5-star in the 2025 class, showed up during the 2026 A-Day game, throwing for 228 yards and four touchdowns.

That A‑Day performance gave Russell momentum in the eyes of many fans and analysts. CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford listed him as a leading candidate for the Week 1 job, and some betting markets put his Heisman odds in the top‑15 range, even though he hasn’t been officially named a starter yet.

Still, the trust Alabama’s staff has in Austin Mack is obvious. He’s spent three years in Kalen DeBoer’s system, first at Washington and now at Alabama. He was also the one thrown into the fire during the CFP quarterfinal loss to Indiana after Ty Simpson went down. To his credit, he handled it well under heavy pressure. The redshirt sophomore completed 11 of 16 passes for 103 yards in a game against the future national champions. 

What really makes 2026 different is the lack of older leaders that Alabama used to lean on. Earlier Alabama teams had experienced captains who quietly set the tone; this one is still deciding who will speak up. That uncertainty makes the QB choice harder, because whichever quarterback wins the job will also have to grow into a leadership role very quickly. In DeBoer’s eyes, this lack of proven leaders is the biggest difference between his Alabama team and the veteran‑loaded rosters he used to see under Nick Saban.

Kalen DeBoer admits Alabama’s big challenge

Leadership certainty isn’t there yet. That’s Kalen DeBoer’s fear. The 2026 roster is quite young compared to previous teams. Nick Saban-era Alabama teams were usually overflowing with veteran alpha personalities. But this one is still figuring itself out.

“We have very few seniors,” he admitted to Greg McElroy. “We have nine seniors, eight on defense and one on offense, but we’ve got a lot of juniors. I think we’ve got 19 juniors, guys who are in their third year, and a number of them are in their third year in our program.”

Alabama lost 10 players to the NFL Draft and replaced plenty through the portal. But Kalen DeBoer didn’t hide from how unusual it feels.

“It is different, probably than what I’ve expected and experienced most years,” he said. “Most years, you know who most of the guys are all the way across the board that you can really expect to lead the charge.”

That uncertainty impacts the QB decision, too. Should he go with Austin Mack’s stability and system familiarity or unleash Keelon Russell’s ceiling? That’s the dilemma sitting on Kalen DeBoer’s desk. But as he said, Alabama probably won’t fully know the answer until August practices come and leadership reveals itself.