Ty Simpson departs, leaving Alabama's QB battle to Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, with one projected to rank No. 8 in the SEC.
The Alabama Crimson Tide will have a difficult decision coming up during training camp this summer.
Quarterback Ty Simpson is headed to the NFL this weekend after being the program's main source of offense for last season.
Without a rushing attack, Simpson had to do it all to lead the Crimson Tide to an SEC championship appearance and run to the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
With Simpson gone, Alabama has a quarterback battle brewing between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell. Mack has experience playing for the Crimson Tide last season. Russell is a talented freshman with huge upside for the offense.
Matt Hayes of USA Today is projecting Russell to win the starting job in Week 1. The bad news for Alabama is that the winner between Russell and Mack is not expected to give the program an elite option under center this fall.
Hayes ranked Russell as just the No. 8 quarterback in the SEC.
"A talented thrower who will compete with Austin Mack for the starting job," Hayes wrote. "Both probably should’ve played more last season — but couldn’t because Alabama wasn’t putting away teams early.
"If you’re a believer in coach Kalen DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb’s quarterback development over the years at Alabama and Washington (and why wouldn’t you be?), this could get real interesting, real quick with Russell’s obvious skills."
During spring practice, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer praised Mack and Russell for being able to take care of the ball, something he hopes will help the team win this fall.
"I think overall the quarterbacks have done a really, really good job of taking care of the ball, understanding we need to be aggressive, but we also got to make sure we’re not taking these unnecessary risks and just checking it down sometimes," DeBoer said.
"A lot of times it is just great, and then you get your shots at the right time because you get behind the defense. So, these guys have done a great job. I think there’s a lot of belief and confidence by our whole team in our quarterback group.”
However, the Crimson Tide have too many questions with the offensive line and backfield to be confident with a game manager under center. Alabama needs Russell or Mack to elevate their game if the team hopes to return to the CFP.
DeBoer will need a quarterback to develop big-time during training camp.