Alabama's season hangs on one decision Kalen DeBoer can't afford to get wrong
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This single decision will shape Alabama’s season.
This decision — and its fallout — could become an inflection point for Kalen DeBoer’s tenure.
This decision will be picked over and scrutinized even more than DeBoer’s game-day fashion choices, and it’ll matter a lot more, too.
Keelon Russell or Austin Mack?
The future or the veteran?
The blue-chip sophomore, or Ty Simpson’s former backup?
The quarterback whom DeBoer signed as one of his first marquee recruiting wins at Alabama, or the quarterback who followed DeBoer from Washington to the SEC?
Russell is the former, Mack the latter.
DeBoer has four weeks to decide whom he’ll select as Alabama’s starting quarterback.
“A tough decision,” DeBoer said recently.
Choose wisely.
Kalen DeBoer prefers one quarterback, not two. Which one?
DeBoer didn’t tip his hand after Alabama’s first preseason practice.
“I thought they were consistent,” he said.
Of course he’s not going to spill the tea after one practice.
He wants to set a stage for competition. He’ll also want an answer.
DeBoer doesn’t prefer a two-quarterback system. These aren’t the ‘90s, and he’s not Steve Spurrier. So, he must choose.
This is one reason why Alabama hired DeBoer. He’s shown a deft hand with quarterbacks. (Michael Penix, anyone?). When Alabama was good in 2025 — it wasn’t always good, but when it was — Simpson was the reason why, at least on offense. He became a first-round NFL Draft selection.
Simpson’s performance can’t be as high as this elevator goes, either — not if DeBoer is to return Alabama to its standard. Deficiencies remain within the program. Did you notice Alabama’s No. 11 preseason ranking in the US LBM Coaches Poll? That’s the Tide’s first time being outside of the preseason top 10 since 2008.
Yes, indeed, cracks exist at Alabama, but talent does, too, and an elite quarterback helps paper over imperfections.
Which quarterback can be elite? Which quarterback gives Alabama the best chance to be elite?
DeBoer must spend the next few weeks evaluating the answers to those questions.
Is Alabama football ready for 'lightning in a bottle'?
It’s rarely as simple as a sports columnist might want to make it, but I view this competition as a choice between safety and ceiling.
Mack probably ranks as the safer choice. He’s the more experienced option, after spending last season as Simpson’s primary backup. He’s in Year 4 with DeBoer.
Russell is the guy with so much potential recruiting evaluators gave him a five-star grade, with so much arm strength Alabama safety Bray Hubbard says you can sense it with your eyes closed, as you listen to his passes sizzle, the quarterback who seized the moment in Alabama’s spring game.
Although Mack is mobile, Russell is the full-fledged dual threat.
“Mack, he's not going to make a wrong decision,” Alabama cornerback Zabien Brown told reporters last month. “And Keelon, he's lightning in a bottle.”
When Alabama had Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson in its backfield and a Sunday-ready offensive line during Nick Saban’s dynasty, it could afford to start a quarterback who specialized in avoiding wrong decisions.
Alabama’s zenith was never 3 yards and a cloud of dust. More like 14 yards and a head of steam.
Now, the program isn’t so resolute. The backfield lacks a Derrick Henry.
Anyway, quarterbacks matter more than ever, even for teams with great tailbacks.
Saban understood this. As the sport evolved, he sought quarterbacks who provided more electricity.
The 2017 Crimson Tide don’t win the national title without Tua Tagovailoa’s seed on 2nd-and-26. The ’21 Tide don’t win the SEC Championship without Bryce Young’s repeated Houdini acts, and the ’23 Tide don’t win the Iron Bowl without Jalen Milroe’s 4th-and-forever miracle.
By 2020, Alabama had retired murderball and replaced it with a sports car. Now, it needs an ace driver. A modern quarterback must do more than keep his team out of bad situations. He needs to be a flash of light.
DeBoer experienced what a team could achieve with an electric quarterback. With Penix at the wheel, Washington ranked near the top of the nation in big plays when it reached the national championship game in the 2023 season.
Experience helps, too. Each of the quarterbacks who started in the past two national championship games were fourth- or fifth- or sixth-year players with previous starting experience.
Alabama lacks that luxury, but if the 19-year-old Russell wins the job, he could return next season with a year of starting experience and two years of eligibility remaining.
Tempting, no?
Lightning in a bottle can be the difference between being an also-ran versus a true contender.
And, still, it’s a big decision.
Is Russell ready? Could Mack be a stopgap who’d get Alabama back to the playoff? Is DeBoer prepared to unstopper the bottle in an attempt to inject electricity into these Tide?
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama's season hangs on one decision Kalen DeBoer can't afford to get wrong
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