Keelon Russell will be the Alabama Crimson Tide‘s starting quarterback in 2026.
Russell beat out Austin Mack in what was a tight quarterback competition in fall camp, and it made sense.
Mack was considered a “safer” bet for the Tide due to his experience. He’s a senior at Alabama and has been with head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb for several years. He actually committed to DeBoer and Washington and followed him to Tuscaloosa.
Russell is a former five-star recruit, though, who has always been hailed for his elite athleticism and high upside.
DeBoer and the Tide clearly chose to bet on Russell’s upside. This, even though he has just 15 career passing attempts to his name.
There are high expectations for Alabama in 2026. Championship expectations, in fact. Those just come along with the scenery in Tuscaloosa.
The Tide are betting that Russell’s natural athleticism and football ability will help him meet the challenges of the 2026 season.
That’s not all the redshirt freshman brings to the table for the Tide, though, according to Grubb.
“One of the things that I love about him is, that’s why he’s here playing quarterback at Alabama, is he certainly has athletic ability, but I told him, ‘If that’s all they ever say about you, that would be an insult.’” Grubb told reporters earlier this week, according to AL.com. “And he takes that very seriously. That he knows, playing quarterback, understanding processing and how to get through reads quicker is what’s going to make him a complete player.”
Alabama Crimson Tide have high confidence in Keelon Russell
From Duncanville, Texas, Russell was ranked as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 2 overall recruit in the 2025 class behind only Bryce Underwood of the Michigan Wolverines.
He was the National Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024 and a MaxPreps All-American. He threw for 4,177 yards and 55 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions while also adding 321 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns as a senior.
The Tide would take even 80-percent of that production in 2026, but no matter what happens, they do seem confident in the young quarterback heading into this season.
“You win any quarterback job through the process, and, certainly, Keelon did that,” Grubb said. “We’re excited. I’m excited for him. He’s really taken the bull by the horns as a starter and embodied that. Just taking command of the field. Everything that you think like, ‘Oh, is a young quarterback going to be able to do that?’ But we have a ton of confidence in him. He’s playing confident. He’s operating at an incredibly high level right now, so we’re really excited for him.”
