Alabama
How Kalen DeBoer is building Alabama football quarterback room
Kalen DeBoer explains Austin Mack Alabama football A-Day snap total
Here’s what Kalen DeBoer said about Alabama quarterback Austin Mack’s A-Day performance.
While recruiting, Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer never promises anything. Ever.
And in the Crimson Tide’s quarterback room, that approach works.
It’s what kept Austin Mack, the fourth-year DeBoer disciple, and former five-star Keelon Russell in the same 2026 quarterback room, along with freshmen Jett Thomalla and Tayden-Evan Kaawa. It’s what convinced five-star Elijah Haven to join a 2027 recruiting class that already had four-star Trent Seaborn committed.
This is Alabama’s development-forward quarterback philosophy, at least for now.
“What you can show them is the past and whatever we’ve done, what it looked like for those quarterbacks,” DeBoer told The Tuscaloosa News. “Their success and production when they were in college, the growth and how that led to them going to the next level. You show them the past and then you show them what we have here at Alabama.”
It’s the story of Alabama’s 2026 room, one where the eventually-named starter — whether it’s Mack or Russell — will have waited his turn, will have watched and learned. That’s the path DeBoer wants, even if it’s not the same path other college football powers take.
In the 12-team 2025 College Football Playoff fold, seven offenses were led by a veteran transfer quarterback, including each one that ended up in the CFP national championship game.
DeBoer has had transfers. Oregon State transfer Marcus McMaryion was his quarterback at Fresno State in 2017 and 2018. Washington transfer Jake Haener was DeBoer’s quarterback at Fresno State in 2020 and 2021. Michael Penix Jr. followed DeBoer to Washington in 2022 from Indiana. And Mack followed DeBoer to Tuscaloosa.
But in terms of proven entities, in terms of rentals for one last run at a national championship, that doesn’t seem to be DeBoer’s style.
“To me, what you’d love to have is a guy who can come in and he can feel comfortable when his time comes,” DeBoer said. “Sooner than later is what they are hoping for, but (to be) so comfortable with the offense, the people around him and what it looks like leadership wise.”
This is the story of Ty Simpson, who had the respect of his teammates after seasons of work in the shadows. DeBoer knew exactly who Simpson was as a person. DeBoer understood Simpson’s strengths enough to put him in a position to succeed.
“The more knowledge they have of the offense, the easier it is to make checks and execute in the biggest moments that they are going to be in here,” DeBoer said.
That’s a part of Alabama’s recruiting pitch at quarterback, something DeBoer and company made clear to Haven. And it’s a philosophy that may not remain stagnant.
“Just because Alabama hasn’t necessarily dipped into the transfer portal a whole lot over the last, whatever, five, six years that that’s really become such a big thing, that doesn’t mean that can’t change because, certainly, you got to win and you got to win now,” The Dunham School football coach Neil Weiner said. “Sometimes those older, veteran guys are the ones that do it. I think Elijah understands that. I don’t think he’s worried about who will come in in the future.”
No promises were made in Alabama’s quarterback room. But the pitch remains clear and consistent, one players continue to buy into.
“I think it’s just making it very clear and then what happens is guys who really want to be pushed to be the best,” DeBoer said. “And (if) it’s actually who they are, they end up being attracted to that, and they want to be a part of it.”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.