Alabama QB Battle Heats Up With Big Days in Scrimmage 1

Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Alabama held its first spring football scrimmage on Thursday, March 27. It served as the eighth spring practice for the Crimson Tide, giving the three quarterbacks battling for the starting job a chance to separate themselves from their peers.

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Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer did not reveal the individual performances of Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and Keelon Russell but did have positive things to say about the room following the first scrimmage.

"They all bring something a little bit different to the table, even though it's not like, maybe, a runner and then a passer," DeBoer said on Thursday. "It's guys doing their thing and what their strengths are, you know, catchable balls and things like that, that they do really well. Making maybe field throws, one guy does that a little bit more. One does a little better job of scrambling."

"So I think they're all learning from each other, though, and taking something from each other's game and applying it to theirs and seeing that there's always a way to make this play happen or that play happen."

This begs the question: Is there any separation in the room?

"I think it's pretty consistent from where it was from the beginning," he said.

DBoer said the quarterbacks did a good job keeping their eyes downfield.

"And [they] hit some explosives and kept the chains moving on some third and fourth downs that were critical," he added, "and that shows, you know, good composure. So, you know, we threw a lot out in the first couple practices, and now I think they're getting into a groove. And, again, we dialed back a little bit for the scrimmage, and we'll keep throwing stuff back on them. The installs were heavy from both sides. And so, you know, offense is installing, defense is installing. And then you're facing what you're seeing, not just what you're supposed to execute on your side."

"So today was good, you know, kept it not at a elementary level, but not at the expert level, either, as far as what we were putting on their plate," DeBoer said.

Only "two balls" were inaccurate, according to DeBoer, so it was an overall big day for the quarterbacks.

"Otherwise, I thought I just probably guessed that they were somewhere in the where you want to be percentage wise, I don't know if 60-65% between the three of them," he said. "And so all of them getting their opportunities to lead with different with the different groups — ones, twos in particular. So I thought they handled the checks and the things, as far as managing the game, that's a lot of it. And then going out there and making plays. So I feel like they were more comfortable today. And I think a lot of it is you put in a specific set of calls that they feel good with, so you can have a successful scrimmage. And I think the offensive staff did that for them."

While Alabama did not release official stats for the scrimmage, sources say Ty Simpson had the overall 'best' day - throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions in the scrimmage. All three of his touchdowns went to Miami transfer wide receiver Isaiah Horton.

Simpson also took the most first-team reps in the scrimmage, with Austin Mack getting some first-team reps as well. Freshman Keelon Russell got a few first and second-team reps but has been with the third-string primarily in camp.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.