Kalen DeBoer likely isn’t announcing Alabama’s next quarterback anytime soon, but whoever the head coach settles on will offer a different skill set than the one the Crimson Tide featured behind center last fall.
Over the past two seasons, Alabama’s offense has been predicated on Jalen Milroe’s game-breaking athleticism. Last year, the dual-threat playmaker became the first Tide quarterback to throw for 15 touchdowns and run for 15 more in a single season. His 20 scores on the ground were the most by an Alabama quarterback and the fourth-highest by a Tide player at any position in a single season.
With Milroe now in the NFL, Alabama has three capable replacements behind center. However, the Tide’s offense will look a bit different regardless of whether Ty Simpson, Austin Mack or Keelon Russell wins the starting job. While Alabama’s current quarterbacks all have the ability to make plays with their feet, each member of the trio will likely rely on their arm more than Milroe did the past two seasons.
“We do probably have three guys who are more alike than different,”DeBoer told reporters during the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida on Tuesday. “Jalen was certainly different — I mean that in a position way. I have the utmost respect for what Jalen is all about because he has some special elements to his game when it comes to running that really I've never been able to coach and very few have seen.”
Simpson, Mack and Russell are more in line with the quarterbacks DeBoer and first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb have had success with in the past. At Washington, the duo built an offense around pocket passer Michael Penix Jr., who threw for 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns in his two seasons under their guidance. It was a similar story at Fresno State, where Jake Haener threw for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns under DeBoer and Grubb during the 2022 season.
Alabama is confident the winner of its quarterback battle will have the ability to put up similar numbers this fall. However, it will likely still be some time before we find out who will be given the reins to the Tide’s offense this season.
During an appearance on Greg McElroy’s Always College Football podcast, DeBoer said he hopes to have a starter in place by “the last week-and-a-half” leading into Alabama’s season-opener against Florida State. Until then, the coaching staff will continue to monitor how the trio of passes progresses over the next three months.
"In June, we get more opportunities now than we did a few years back to be around them in the classroom or on the field,” DeBoer told reporters on Tuesday. “So there's leadership — these guys were all doing things in the month of May on their own. And as much as they don't have to let us know what they're all doing, you do know, because position coaches are keeping track of all their guys and understanding the workload they're taking on and where they're at.
“These guys did a great job, all three of them, of doing some of those leadership things and going places and bringing guys together. And the best part about it was they all — it wasn't like one quarterback took three guys and one took these four. They all did it together, and that's what I appreciate about this group of guys. It is a competition. I've referred to it as a healthy one because I think they all respect each other.”
All three of Alabama’s quarterbacks traveled to Las Vegas along with several of the Tide’s receivers earlier this month to train with current Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. While that was a group effort, DeBoer expects the trio of passers to continue to compete throughout the summer in order to get a leg up in the competition heading into preseason camp.
“They're all going as hard as they can,” DeBoer said. “They're going to step on each other's toes at times in that leadership role, but so be it. And I appreciate the way they've gotten after it. And June will be a big month to take the next step.
“We're tracking everything in August, just like we did in the spring. And it doesn't always come down to who had the highest competition percentage because a lot of times it's a mixture of who's moving the ball down the field the most. That's what's most important, right? It's putting points on the board. So who's making the least amount of mistakes, big mistakes in particular? But then you're also trying to give them all a chance because they're at different points in their career.”
“Their growth is happening in different ways. No one has significant playing time reps in a game. Obviously they're at different levels and had different things that they've shown us that they can do at a high level.”
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