Alabama

Who starts at Alabama, Tennessee? Monitoring the most notable post-portal QB battles

Published

5 months ago

January 28, 2026

Who starts at Alabama, Tennessee? Monitoring the most notable post-portal QB battles

With Darian Mensah now headed to Miami, all of the notable transfer quarterbacks will have been accounted for during this recent wave of roster movement. In addition, all of the top high school recruits have signed, and all of the NFL Draft declarations have been made.

So, we’ve got a pretty good idea of what most quarterback position groups will look like in 2026 — most, but not all.

Let’s take a look at some of the schools where things aren’t quite settled.

Note: Schools are listed in alphabetical order. All recruiting rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.

Alabama

Ty Simpson led the Crimson Tide back to the College Football Playoff and has the potential to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft thanks to a shallow quarterback class. That leaves the starting job open in Tuscaloosa.

Redshirt junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell are the two main candidates. Mack served as the Crimson Tide’s backup this past season and was forced into action in the Rose Bowl when Simpson cracked a rib during the game. Russell was the No. 2 overall player in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the QB many view as the future of the program.

Mack completed 24 of 32 attempts for 228 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. Russell completed 11 of 15 for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Russell probably has the higher ceiling, but Mack has spent more time in the offense.

Alabama also signed two quarterbacks during the 2026 recruiting cycle: top-100 prospect Jett Thomalla and three-star Tayden Kaawa.

Arkansas

KJ Jackson started the regular-season finale against Missouri and played extensively the week before against Texas. He finished the 2025 season with 33 completions in 54 attempts for 441 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

That was under a different coaching staff, though. Ryan Silverfield has taken over, and he brought AJ Hill — a four-star Class of 2025 signee — with him from Memphis. Arkansas also signed Division II Angelo State transfer Braeden Fuller.

It seems like it’ll come down to Jackson and Hill. Jackson is the more experienced player, but not by a wide margin (58 career attempts to 32 by Hill). Hill has familiarity with Silverfield, which could give him an edge.

Duke

The Blue Devils find themselves on this list after Mensah put the program in an unenviable position by leaving just as the transfer portal window was closing. Henry Belin IV was the only other quarterback who threw a pass for Duke last season, but he transferred to Missouri State.

San Jose State transfer Walker Eget recently committed to Duke, but he needs to get a waiver from the NCAA to play in 2026. Eget started most of the past two seasons for the Spartans and passed for 5,555 yards, 30 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in that time. He is experienced and has a live arm — and is probably the best the Blue Devils could hope for at this point.

Duke also brought in North Alabama transfer Ari Patu, who began his career at Stanford. Dan Mahan was a three-star signee in the Blue Devils’ 2025 class and remains in the program.

San Jose State transfer Walker Egat will need to get a waiver from the NCAA to play in 2026. (Marco Garcia / Imagn Images)

Georgia Tech

Haynes King was a tough, resilient player who represented everything Georgia Tech wants to be as a program under Brent Key. Now there will be a competition to replace him.

Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza, the younger brother of the Heisman Trophy winner, is the favorite. We mostly saw Mendoza late in the Hoosiers’ blowout wins this past season. He completed 18 of 24 passes for 286 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 190 yards and a score.

Graham Knowles, like Mendoza, a member of the Class of 2024, will also get a look. Knowles was the higher-rated recruit and has been at Georgia Tech longer.

And there’s Grady Adamson, a redshirt freshman who was ranked No. 665 overall in the Class of 2025. But if Georgia Tech’s staff had confidence in Knowles or Adamson, why did they bring in Mendoza?

Ole Miss

This won’t be interesting if starter Trinidad Chambliss receives an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA. If he does, Ole Miss will probably be a preseason top-five team and Chambliss will be a Heisman Trophy contender.

If he is not granted the extra year, the Rebels will be in a complicated spot. Ole Miss signed Auburn transfer Deuce Knight, a Mississippi native who was a five-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle. He certainly has a high ceiling, but it’ll be tough to roll with a first-year starter coming off the great postseason run Ole Miss had and against a 2026 schedule that includes Louisville, LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt, Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma, among others.

Louisiana transfer Walker Howard returned to the program after a year away and seemingly will be nothing more than a depth piece.

We shouldn’t forget about AJ Maddox, another Mississippi native who spent the past two seasons with the program and was a four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

If Chambliss comes back, this will be about the pecking order behind him.

Syracuse

Steve Angeli threw for 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions in four games before suffering a torn Achilles late in a win at Clemson. Syracuse lost eight consecutive games after Angeli’s injury.

He will be the starter if healthy, but is in the midst of a complicated recovery. Coach Fran Brown wanted to add depth at the position to avoid another free fall like Syracuse experienced in 2025.

The Orange added Kennesaw State transfer Amari Odom, who led the Owls to the Conference USA championship and threw for 2,594 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 347 yards and seven scores. That’s a good secondary option to have.

They also signed UTEP transfer Malachi Nelson, a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle who began his career at USC before transferring to Boise State and then UTEP. Nelson finally earned a starting role last season with the Miners but was replaced after five games. He’s now at his fourth school in as many years.

Tennessee

Here’s another situation that rests on an eligibility ruling. If Joey Aguilar receives an additional year, then Tennessee has a proven commodity at quarterback. Aguilar threw for 3,565 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 picks in 2025.

If he doesn’t, the Volunteers will be forced to go with a relatively inexperienced option. Last season’s backup, Jake Merklinger, transferred to UConn.

George MacIntyre, a fringe top-150 prospect in the 2025 cycle, is back for his second season. The program added Colorado transfer Ryan Staub, who started one game for the Buffaloes last season. It’s difficult to envision him as a true starting option.

All eyes will be on five-star freshman Faizon Brandon, who was the No. 6 overall player in the 2026 recruiting cycle. It feels like Brandon is the future of the program, but it’s a matter of when he takes over that remains the question.

UCF

The Knights ranked 90th in scoring offense (24.3 ppg) in Scott Frost’s first year back at the helm, so the unit needs more punch. They added that by bringing in James Madison transfer Alonza Barnett, who threw for 2,806 yards, rushed for 589 and accounted for 38 total touchdowns while leading the Dukes to a Sun Belt title and CFP appearance.

Barnett provides the dual-threat ability that Frost’s offense needs. He seems like the frontrunner for the starting role, but UCF also brought in FIU transfer Keyone Jenkins, who has three years of starting experience.

Virginia

Chandler Morris was denied an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA, which opens the door for a quarterback competition in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers signed Beau Pribula, who was Missouri’s starter last season. Pribula is a good athlete, but he’s still raw as a passer. He threw 11 touchdown passes and nine interceptions last season, with eight of those TDs coming against non-SEC competition.

Virginia also brought in Pitt transfer Eli Holstein, who opened the 2025 season as the Panthers’ starter but was benched after four games.

Both players have had good moments, but they both have flaws.

Virginia Tech

Ethan Grunkemeyer did some good things down the stretch for Penn State last season and has familiarity with coach James Franklin and the staff at Virginia Tech.

Those factors give him a leg up for the starting job. But the Hokies also added North Carolina transfer Bryce Baker, who was a former top-100 prospect and Bill Belichick’s first major signee with the Tar Heels. It was good to take a flier on Baker’s potential and see what comes of it.

Virginia Tech signed four-star prospect Troy Huhn, who had been committed to Franklin at Penn State.

There’s a decent amount of talent at this position, but not much experience.

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Alabama

Alabama football fans invited to pep rally at River Market

Published

3 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Alabama football fans invited to pep rally at River Market

Alabama football fans are invited to a preseason pep rally Aug. 4 at the Tuscaloosa River Market.

The pep rally is part of the annual fall kickoff event hosted by the Tuscaloosa County chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association.

The family friendly event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway. Tickets, which include a barbecue dinner, cost $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 8 to 12. Children 7 years old and younger will be admitted for free.

The pep rally will feature live entertainment, a silent auction and a range of family-friendly activities. There will also be a cash bar with wine and beer.

Tickets can be purchased on the chapter’s website, tuscaloosacountyuaalumni.com. Membership in the local alumni chapter is not required for attendance.

University of Alabama President Peter Mohler and UA baseball coach Rob Vaughn will be part of the festivities.

Mohler began his duties as UA president on July 21, 2025.

Before being named UA president, Mohler spent nearly 15 years at Ohio State University, where he held senior leadership roles overseeing research, innovation and economic development. He also served as OSU’s acting president, providing leadership during a pivotal period for one of the nation’s largest public universities.

Mohler earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a PhD in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Vaughn has been UA’s head baseball coach for three years, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Baseball World Series in 2026.

The Humble, Texas, native served as head baseball coach at Maryland for five seasons before coming to Tuscaloosa.

Vaughn played collegiate baseball at Kansas State, where his position was catcher.

Alabama begins the 2026 football season on Sept. 5 with a home game against the East Carolina Pirates. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Other Alabama home games include Florida State on Sept. 19, South Carolina on Sept. 26, Georgia on Oct. 10, Texas A&M on Oct. 24, Chattanooga on Nov. 21 and Auburn on Nov. 28.

Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com. To support his work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.

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Alabama

Alabama teen charged with stabbing mom to death issued vile threat to dad — as new pic shows bloodbath left behind

Published

13 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Alabama teen charged with stabbing mom to death issued vile threat to dad — as new pic shows bloodbath left behind

The Alabama teen charged in a heinous knife attack on his parents in their sleepy private community hissed that he was “gonna kill” his dad as he allegedly stabbed him — as new photos show the blood-soaked front porch where his butchered mom died.

The grisly scene unfolded on home surveillance footage Sunday night along Augustine Drive in the handsome Belforest complex — which captured the 17-year-old threatening his father, while allegedly knifing him.

“You can hear both of them coming out of the house, and there’s like one scream from the mom,” neighbor Shawn Scurry, 51, told The Post Wednesday.

“Then the dad is arguing with the [son] — and when I say arguing, I mean like, ‘Why are you doing this?’

“He’s basically saying, ‘I don’t want to die. Please stop. No.’ And then he’s repeating, ‘Somebody help me, please, help me’ very loudly,” Scurry said of the clip.

At one point, the audio captures the son “telling [the dad] he was gonna kill him.”

“Those words are in the video,” she said.

Meanwhile, a large pool of blood stained the front entrance of a neighbor’s home where cops say 37-year-old Samantha Baker was butchered around 9 p.m. Sunday.

Another haunting image exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead.

The bloodbath began after Samantha and her 46-year-old husband Lance Baker got into a heated argument with their 17-year-old son over a disciplinary issue inside their family home, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Captain Justin Correa told The Post Wednesday.

That’s when the boy — whose name is being withheld by police — turned a kitchen knife on his parents, allegedly stabbing them both “multiple times,” according to Correa.

The parents fled outside in a desperate bid to escape — but the attack continued.

Lance’s spine-chilling screams could be heard as he ran door to door down the block, leaving bloodied handprints on neighbors’ front doors while seeking help — with his son right on his tail, according to the traumatized neighbor.

“It was like fighting off a bee that keeps stinging you,” Scurry said, and claimed that another neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the teen repeatedly stabbing his father outside another nearby home.

Correa confirmed that doorbell camera footage of the assault had been handed over to police, and said at least “a few” of the neighbors were not home when Lance was looking for help.

Lance only “went to doors where people were on vacation — that’s why they didn’t answer, and that’s why he was becoming helpless,” Scurry claimed.

Scurry, who was home at the time, only became slightly aware of the horror unfolding when she spotted the Bakers’ dog wandering around her front door.

“I walked with the dog back to their house, rang their doorbell. Nobody answered, and I went around to the garage,” she recalled.

That’s when she heard cries in the distance.

“I heard … ‘Help me.’ I couldn’t find where it was coming from,” Scurry said, adding that she went back into her home after that.

The teen eventually retreated to his family’s home and called 911, said authorities, who described the attack as an isolated domestic matter.

Cops arrested him at the home without incident, according to Correa, who pushed back on reports that the alleged killer barricaded himself inside the house.

As emergency crews flooded their typically quiet street, Scurry said she stepped outside again and saw Samantha’s body before the coroner arrived.

“I saw her face down with stab wounds all over her back,” the shaken neighbor said.

Samantha, a realtor, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lance, a US Army Reserve Battalion Commander with the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion in Mobile, was flown to a local hospital in critical condition, according to cops.

As of Wednesday, the father of two was still in the hospital, where his condition had become stable, Correa said.

The teen, who will be tried as an adult, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder. He is being held in jail on a $1 million bond after his arraignment on Monday.

The family’s younger teen son was not at the home at the time of the attack, police said.

“A very sad event for sure,” Correa said.

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Alabama

Mac Jones asked who was his craziest teammate at Alabama

Published

24 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Mac Jones asked who was his craziest teammate at Alabama

Jan 8, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Tony Brown (2) against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 CFP national championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Mac Jones joined “Bussin With The Boys” and was asked who his craziest teammate ever was, and he went back to his Alabama days to highlight Tony Brown.

Brown is a former Alabama cornerback.

“There’s this guy, Tony Brown,” Jones said. “I don’t know if you guys know him. Look him up on there. His name’s Crazy Tony, but he was a stud at Alabama. He played on that defense with like Daron Payne, like all those guys, Minka (Fitzpatrick), everybody. He played in the league for a little bit. He was the man, like scout team, me and him. Every day, like going at it, like pretty much fighting. He was just crazy, dude. I’d throw a dig route over the middle, and he would just crush our scout team receiver. Like, Mac Hereford… he would go over the middle and Crazy Tony would just crush him. Saban would just look the other way. I’m like, dude, he just got smoked. Like, what are we doing? It’s like same thing, fighting at practice and stuff. But he was a great teammate. He just had his thing on the field where it was like he just blacked out. It wasn’t because he was a bad guy or anything. That’s what he does. He goes and knocks people out.”

Brown played for Alabama from 2014 to 2017, and he was a part of two National Championship teams. He finished his career at Alabama with 89 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions before moving on to the NFL.

Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.