The 5 most important position battles facing Kalen DeBoer, Alabama ahead of fall camp

We’re just about a month away from the beginning of fall camp. Alabama’s season opener against East Carolina is on September 5th, so fall camp should start somewhere around 30 days before the opener.

The offseason is nearly over. It’s about to get real.

Even after signing a contract extension, Kalen DeBoer is still facing a pivotal third season as the Alabama head coach, at least in terms of perception. The public perception is that Alabama isn’t what it was under Nick Saban and never will be again. The perception inside the Crimson Tide’s fanbase is split. Some are fully on board the DeBoer train, while some wrote him off the moment he lost to Vanderbilt on the road in 2024. Nothing short of a national title will get the latter group back on board.

The first step to a strong 2026 season will be fall camp and sorting through several critical position battles. Today, we’ll take a look at five of them and where things stand before practice begins.

5 Alabama position battles that will be at the forefront of fall camp

5. Wide Receiver No. 3

It’s a foregone conclusion that two of Alabama’s starting wide receivers for this season will be Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks. They’ll make up one of the best tandems in the SEC. Coleman-Williams is a rising junior who looks to be on the precipice of a bounce-back junior campaign for the Crimson Tide. Brooks is a rising sophomore who had a strong freshman season that culminated in his breakout performance in the College Football Playoff against Oklahoma.

The No. 3 WR spot is up for grabs, though. It appeared that NC State transfer Noah Rogers had the inside track, but he suffered an injury during the A-Day scrimmage that will cost him the first part of the season. That leaves Alabama with a three-man race for the third starting spot at WR between redshirt sophomore Rico Scott, sophomore Derek Meadows, and true freshman Cederian Morgan.

Morgan has the highest ceiling of the trio, but Scott has the experience edge, and Meadows looked to be on the path to serious playing time as a freshman before suffering a concussion. It won’t be as pivotal as some of the other position battles, but that No. 3 WR spot will be one of the most intense.

4. Defensive Tackle

One of the biggest priorities of the offseason was bulking up the defensive line, and DeBoer and DC Kane Wommack did great work on paper. They added three experienced transfers out of the portal in USC’s Devan Thompkins, Oregon’s Terrance Green, and Mississippi State’s Kedrick Bingley-Jones. All three will see plenty of playing time next season.

Thompkins is the favorite to start at Bandit, replacing LT Overton. On the interior, Alabama will have a lot of options for two spots.

Right now, Green is probably the favorite at nose, and rising sophomore London Simmons is the likely starter at DT, but Alabama has a lot of options. Guys like Jeremiah Beaman, Bingley-Jones, Edric Hill, and Steve Bolo Mboumoua are all capable of earning one of the starting roles, however.

Regardless of who starts, all of those guys will be counted on for quality depth.

3. Linebacker

Virginia Tech transfer Caleb Woodson is projected to start at one of the linebacker spots. He was a standout during spring practice, and his veteran experience will be key for a young group.

But sorting through the options next to Woodson will be difficult. Guys like QB Reese, Luke Metz, Cayden Jones, and even true freshman Xavier Griffin will have opportunities to make a move during fall camp before the season opener.

Reese has the experience edge, but Metz, Jones, and even Griffin should be taken seriously in the competition.

2. Right side of the OL

The left side of the Tide’s offensive line appears to be sorted out. LT Jackson Lloyd and C Racin Delgatty are penciled in as starters. The expectation is that Will Sanders will slot in at LG during fall camp after missing spring practice with an injury.

The right side is a lot more unsettled.

The expectation was that sophomore Michael Carroll would remain at RT, but in the spring, he spent a lot of time at guard in the interest of finding the best five. Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James, who started 21 games across stints in Starkville and at Toledo, is the likely favorite at RT, but other transfers like Ethan Fields (Ole Miss) and Nick Brooks (Texas) will have opportunities in the fall to earn a starting role.

Carroll will start, but it remains to be seen whether that will be at guard or tackle in 2026.

1. Quarterback

Could it be anything else? All eyes will be on the QB competition once camp starts between redshirt junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell. There’s confidence in the building and the fanbase that whoever wins the job will do a quality job, and the offensive line and other areas will be the determining factors for how far Alabama goes.

Russell exited spring practice as the perceived favorite following an impressive A-Day scrimmage, but the competition is still wide open, and Mack will certainly make a strong push to try and earn the job.

Russell seems likely to have the higher ceiling, particularly with his legs that could add a different – and much-needed – dynamic to a beleaguered Tide ground game. But Mack’s experience can’t be discounted as he enters his fourth season under DeBoer.

It will be one of the most discussed position battles in the country, and it could last all the way into the season.