Alabama

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

Published

1 month 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

What to know about the Alabama man granted clemency two days before his execution

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

What to know about the Alabama man granted clemency two days before his execution

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday granted clemency to a man on death row who was scheduled to be executed Thursday even though he did not personally kill anyone.

Ivey commuted Charles “Sonny” Burton’s death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton, 75, was convicted of capital murder for the shooting death of Doug Battle during a 1991 robbery. Another man, Derrick DeBruce, shot Battle after Burton had left the building.

The 1991 murder and legal proceedings

The shooting occurred Aug. 16, 1991, during a robbery at an AutoZone auto parts store in Talladega. Doug Battle, a 34-year-old Army veteran and father of four, was shot and killed after entering the store during the robbery.

Before they went inside, Burton said if anyone caused trouble in the store that he would “take care of it,” according to testimony.

As the robbery was ending, Battle entered the store. He threw his wallet down, got onto the floor and exchanged words with DeBruce. LaJuan McCants, who was 16 at the time, testified that Burton and others had left the store before DeBruce shot Battle in the back.

A jury convicted DeBruce and Burton of capital murder and both were sentenced to death. During closing arguments, a prosecutor argued Burton was “just as guilty as Derrick DeBruce, because he’s there to aid and assist him.” Prosecutors pointed to the statement about handling trouble as evidence that Burton was the robbery leader. Burton’s attorneys have disputed that he was the leader.

DeBruce had his death sentence overturned on appeal after a court agreed that he had ineffective counsel. DeBruce was resentenced to life imprisonment and later died in prison.

Ivey’s reasons for granting clemency

Ivey said she “cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton” when the triggerman had his sentence reduced to life imprisonment.

“I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not,” Ivey said in a statement. “To be clear, Mr. Burton will not be eligible for parole and will rightfully spend the remainder of his life behind bars for his role in the robbery that led to the murder of Doug Battle. He will now receive the same punishment as the triggerman.”

It is only the second time the Republican governor, who has presided over 25 executions, has granted clemency to a person on death row.

“The murder of Doug Battle was a senseless and tragic crime, and this decision does not diminish the profound loss felt by the Battle family. I pray that they may find peace and closure,” Ivey said.

A mix of praise and criticism

The governor’s decision drew a mix of praise and criticism.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was “deeply disappointed” in the action and said he believes Burton’s execution should have gone forward. Marshall said Burton organized the armed robbery that led to Battle’s death. He said “longstanding Alabama law recognizes accomplice liability, as has every judge that has touched this case over three decades.”

“There has never been any doubt that Sonny Burton has Douglas Battle’s blood on his hands,” Marshall said.

Alice Marie Johnson, whom President Donald Trump had tapped last year as his “pardon czar,” praised Ivey. She said the governor “showed what courageous and common sense leadership looks like.”

“By commuting the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, she ensured that justice — not technicalities — guides the most serious decision a state can make,” Johnson wrote on social media.

Other Republican governors have granted clemency where there were concerns the person scheduled to be executed was the less culpable defendant. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt last year commuted the sentence of Tremane Wood to life, matching the sentence of his brother who confessed to the murder.

What happens next

Burton will be moved off of Alabama’s death row, where he has been imprisoned since 1992. However, it is unclear when that will happen. A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Corrections did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Burton will spend the rest of his life in prison since he doesn’t have the possibility of parole.

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Alabama

New Alabama football coach Adrian Klemm faces massive task | Goodbread

Published

24 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New Alabama football coach Adrian Klemm faces massive task | Goodbread

Adrian Klemm, meet the challenge of a career.

Alabama football’s first-year offensive line coach is one of three new faces at Kalen DeBoer’s conference table. And, next year, history says there might be three more. At the major college level, heavy turnover among assistant coaches is business as usual. But make no mistake; Klemm was DeBoer’s most important hire of the offseason. He might well be the most important hire DeBoer has made in his 26 months on the job.

That’s the magnitude of the mess that Alabama’s 2025 offensive line left behind.

The Crimson Tide’s 2025 rushing attack was an insult to the word attack. It was more like a rushing surrender; ranked 123rd out of 134 FBS teams, and 15th of 16 SEC teams, at 104.1 yards per game. Rock bottom came in the SEC Championship Game, when Georgia sent it backward for minus-3 yards. It’s frankly remarkable that quarterback Ty Simpson assembled a 28-5 TD-INT ratio, as a first-year starter no less, with virtually zero help from a ground game. And while we’re on the subject of the passing game, Simpson wasn’t very well-protected, either. At 2.13 sacks allowed per game, UA ranked 90th in the country.

If Klemm even bothered to watch film of last year’s offensive line, he had to do it with one eye closed.

UA tried all sorts of combinations up front, looking for a solution to what was plainly its biggest problem. In 45 years paying attention to college football, I never saw so many substitutions on an offensive line as Alabama made in 2025. Backups got every chance that could have asked for. On one hand, it was understandable that now-fired offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic refused to stay with a failing five all season.

But it also smacked of desperation.

In the end, it was clear that no combination was effective; the first-team unit Kapilovic finally settled on late in the season was the one that got manhandled by Georgia in Atlanta.

It was a shock to the system for Alabama fans, who know what a dominant run game looks like whether they’re young or old. Jam Miller led Alabama with 504 rushing yards on the season; former UA star Derrick Henry once ran for 557 in a three-game stretch against Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State.

Miller, of course, is no Henry. But the gap between those two is no bigger than the gap between Henry’s 2015 offensive line and the disastrous line that took the field a decade later.

Klemm is tasked with turning that mess around in a single offseason, with only one returning part-time starter in sophomore Michael Carroll, a promising cornerstone to be sure. But an offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link, and Klemm must find four links to line up beside Carroll. A collection of returning backups, transfers and incoming freshmen have a lot of improvements to make, along with a strong impression on a new position coach.

With spring practice underway, that process has begun in earnest.

And Klemm faces a taller task than any assistant on the practice field.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.

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Alabama

Mother who reported AL toddler missing now faces murder charge

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Mother who reported AL toddler missing now faces murder charge

The mother of an Enterprise toddler, reported missing Feb. 16, has been charged with capital murder, said Police Chief Michael Moore.

Adrienne Reid, mother of Genesis Nova Reid, reported her daughter as missing to authorities and said the two-year-old was not in the home and the door was open. On March 9, she was charged with capital murder of a child under the age of 14 and abuse of a corpse, Moore said. March 9 would have been Genesis’ birthday, he said. Adrienne Reid had previously been charged with filing a false report about her daughter’s disappearance.

She is being held without bond, Moore said. Adrienne Reid could not be reached for comment and court records do not show if she has an attorney.

The case shocked Enterprise and southeast Alabama. Hundreds of volunteers searched for her, and people were asked to wear pink to honor her.

Early on in the investigation neighbors told law enforcement that they hadn’t seen the child for several weeks.

Moore said evidence points to the capital murder charge even though Genesis’ body has not been found. The last time she was seen was Christmas night while visiting family in Dothan, Moore said. Video footage at the apartment complex where they lived showed Adrienne Reid about 11:30 p.m. Christmas night pulling a rolling duffle bag to a dumpster at the complex, and throwing the duffle bag inside, he said.

Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd said his office began the process of planning to search the landfill early in the investigation. The landfill covers 100 acres. He said the area where the contents of the dumpster that allegedly contained Genesis’ body was likely dumped has been narrowed down to an area covering a few hundred feet.

Active searches will begin soon, he said. District Attorney James Tarbox said the state will be seeking the death penalty.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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