Josh Pate Shares Juicy Prediction on Alabama's Quarterback Room

When Ty Simpson officially announced he was entering the 2026 NFL Draft, it sent Gump Nation in a frenzy.

Who starts at quarterback for Alabama? What does this mean for Keelon Russell? Is Austin Mack next up? If it is Mack, does that spell the end of Russell’s tenure at Bama?

So many questions.

Noted college football analyst and insider, Josh Pate doesn’t seem to think it’s all that complicated.

As a guest on the Crain & Cone Show, Pate was asked about what we could end up seeing in Tuscaloosa, primarily at quarterback – and he suggested that Alabama already has a preferred outcome.

“My feel is that Keelon Russell is going to end up winning the job,” Pate said. “But that’s certainly not anything that I’ve heard; I don’t think that’s knowable right now. Sometimes, even if you’re the coaching staff, you know the guy you feel gives you the best high-end potential. Sometimes you even know the guy that you hope wins the job.”

He then went on to compare Russell’s situation akin to Ohio State and former Alabama quarterback, Julian Sayin.

“But that’s not the way it works. Ohio State was kind of in this last year. I remember talking to someone at Ohio State and their take was ‘We think Julian Sayin gives us the best chance to win eventually. We kind of lean towards hoping he takes the job.’ But that’s just it, he still has to take the job. You don’t just magically bequeath QB1 status, or if you do, you’re setting yourself up for failure.”

Pate then goes on to say that he knows that Russell hasn’t “taken” the job, because the competition between him and Mack is real.

Mack is a “Kalen DeBoer guy.” DeBoer recruited him while he was at Washington, and Mack later followed him to Tuscaloosa.

So, there is already a familiarity aspect here. Russell may have the high-end talent, but Mack has already spent three seasons watching from the sidelines.

And when Simpson went down with an injury in the Rose Bowl, it was Mack who was called on to finish out the game.

With both Mack and Russell returning for this season at Alabama, whoever wins this job, it will certainly set the tone for what to expect for the future.

If Russell takes the job, it would be likely that Mack finds his way elsewhere to get an opportunity to start.

If Mack wins the job, Alabama's long-term quarterback timeline could shift. Russell would still project as the future, but his path to the field could become much more complicated.

No pressure at all, right?

Major implications lie in the hands of both of these young men, but only one will enter Week 1 with the ball in their hands.

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