Somehow, Kalen DeBoer just locked in college football’s best QB room

In hindsight, it seems that Alabama never expected Ty Simpson to be its quarterback beyond 2025. Few would’ve expected him to leave for the NFL as a potential first-round pick, but either way, his departure clears room for 2025 five-star Keelon Russell to take over. That is, if Russell can win what will be college football’s most closely watched quarterback competition this offseason.

On Friday night, reports surfaced that both Russell, after redshirting his true freshman year in Tuscaloosa, and Austin Mack, who followed Kalen DeBoer from Washington two years ago, are coming back to the Crimson Tide, and suddenly, after losing a potential first-rounder, Alabama has the best QB room in college football.