DeBoer Shares Message to Austin Mack After Losing QB Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The summer-long conversation surrounding the Crimson Tide's quarterback competition came to a close Saturday when Alabama named sophomore Keelon Russell as its starting quarterback for week one against East Carolina.

On the losing side of the competition is veteran quarterback Austin Mack, who followed DeBoer from Washington when he took the job in 2024.

Despite Mack's long-term commitment to DeBoer and Alabama, Russell's natural ability and skill set proved to be too much to leave on the bench as Alabama handed the sophomore the reins of the offense.

Kalen DeBoer shared his message to Mack during media availability Monday morning: "I expect him to continue to be elite in how he approaches everything," DeBoer said. "His car was, if not the first, one of the first here the next day. It's just who he is. He's an extremely hard worker. This guy is a phenomenal quarterback. To me, he didn't lose anything. He didn't fail in any way. We had a really good quarterback in Keelon that we had to pick to win, and he won the job. That's just what I've told him."

Mack reclassified from the class of 2024 to 2023 to join DeBoer's Washington program a year early, not seeing any playing time in the Huskies' run to the national title game before following DeBoer to Tuscaloosa in the off-season.

"This is tough stuff. This is grown man stuff." DeBoer continued, "He's never fallen off, he's never wavered about how he's going to approach things. He's a pro. He loves this team. He has a great relationship with Keelon and he's been out there supporting him already, but it doesn't take away from the fact that he's invested so much into it just as a human being, and the human aspect side of it is going to hurt."

Serving as the third-string behind Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson, Mack made one appearance in 2024, completing a pair of passes for 31 yards and a score.

In 2025 as Simpson's backup, Mack appeared in four games, going 24/32 for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Mack entered in the Rose Bowl following Simpson's injury,  completing 11/16 passes for 103 yards

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"But he's gonna be ready when he needs to be," added DeBoer. "A helmet comes off, he's got to be ready to make a play on a fourth down, and I wouldn't expect anything less from him because that's who he is as a person and he's a great football player, too."

Alabama opens its season on September 5 at home against East Carolina at 11 a.m. CT on ABC

For more Alabama Baseball, Basketball, and Football content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.