Happy Thursday, everyone. Alabama has its first of two fall scrimmages today, and you know what most people will be watching.
“Heading into camp, Kalen DeBoer told me he’d like to have a week and a half of camp with a named starter,” Thamel said.
Thamel then proceeded to talk about the different skills Mack and Russell bring to the table, via a stock market analogy.
“Austin Mack, he’s like investing in the S&P 500…there’s going to be ups and downs, but you know you’re going to get steady growth,” Thamel said.
“Keelon Russell, he’s a little bit like some semiconductor stocks. There’s going to be some big swings, maybe a little more vulnerability, but at the end of the day, the higher profit margin is going to be enticing.”
If that is the plan, then we should probably expect a decision to come somewhere around two weeks from now. Ryan Grubb spoke earlier in the week about what he’s looking for from them.
Mack has the experience advantage in the battle, entering his fourth season in Kalen DeBoer’s system. He followed DeBoer to Tuscaloosa from Washington ahead of the 2024 season, and served as Ty Simpson’s primary backup last season, picking up significant action in the Rose Bowl.
However, the job is by no means his automatically. Russell joined Alabama as a five-star prospect before the 2025 campaign, and is thought to have an extremely high ceiling as a player.
“Now you’re starting to look at decision-making, completion percentages, turnovers, explosives, how all those things obviously weigh out,” Grubb said. “But then also just does it look like that guy believes I’m going to make that play and both those guys are getting better at that every day.”
It’s command, command of practices, command of an offense when things don’t go its way. That, Grubb says, is the separator.
“Certainly you can’t just have the rah-rah guy if he can’t throw the freaking ball,” Grubb said. “I’m definitely looking for command, because they’re both capable physically of making all the plays. Now you’re starting to look at decision-making, completion percentages, turnovers, explosives, how all those things obviously weigh out. But then also just does it look like that guy believes I’m going to make that play and both those guys are getting better at that every day.”
Of course, fixing the run game is at least as critical as which QB is chosen.
From the hires the Crimson Tide made in the offseason, looping in tight ends coach Richard Owens and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm as catalysts for reviving one of the worst rushing offenses in team history, and from the development of returners Daniel Hill, AK Dear and Kevin Riley, and freshmen EJ Crowell and Trae’shawn Brown, Grubb is excited about what is being built. The Alabama offensive coordinator gushed about bursts he saw on the practice field, from Hill and Brown to Dear.
“It was a competitive day for the running back, so I felt like it was coming from all different directions,” Grubb said. “Everybody was showing up and doing a really good job. So I think that the competition, you know, has held strong. Those guys are, I think, that’s one of the biggest parts right now is the guys feeling that level of competition in the room.”
In fact, Manny Navarro of The Athletic listed the whole offensive line among his 20 key players for 2026.
8. Alabama’s offensive line: The Crimson Tide’s lackluster run blocking last season led to a blowout loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl and a coaching change, with Adrian Klemm replacing Chris Kapilovic as the O-line coach. Right guard Michael Carroll (six career starts) is the one returning starter in the group. Center Racin Delgatty (Cal Poly) and right tackle Jayvin James (Mississippi State) are the two experienced starters Alabama added from the portal to (hopefully) anchor the group.
That’s more than one player, Manny.
Ian Casselberry of Yahoo has Alabama vs FSU among his top ten non-conference games this season.
The Crimson Tide aim to return to national title contention after last season’s first-round CFP win over Oklahoma. A better offense would certainly help. Austin Mack or Keelon Russell should provide strong QB play and utilize receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams. But the running game has to be better. Daniel Hill and freshman EJ Crowell have to provide more than Jam Miller‘s team-leading 504 yards last season.
However, Alabama will likely have to improve on its 11-4 record to rank among the top teams. Another loss to Florida State would probably stunt those ambitions with a tough SEC slate — including a four-game stretch versus Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU — still to come.
Joe Rexrode of The Athletic wants to hear nothing of abolishing preseason polls.
But a year ago, The Athletic’s Matt Baker did a study of five College Football Playoff seasons and the impact of preseason rankings on final rankings. He gathered data that “shows the opposite of what critics claim: Teams with higher preseason rankings seem more likely to be punished, not rewarded, compared to computer rankings, while teams that start unranked are more likely to be overrated than underrated.”
Van Pelt cited 2025 preseason top-five teams Penn State and Clemson — which finished a combined 14-12 and faced off in the fabled Pinstripes Bowl — as examples of why it’s so hard to assess teams in August, even when they bring back known commodities.
He’s right, and I would guess the first 20 years of this era will see more preseason poll missteps than the preceding 20 years, though they’ve always had some misfires. To the credit of the committee, it did not care last season that Penn State started No. 2 and Clemson No. 4 in the AP poll. Neither appeared in the initial rankings Nov. 4.
Last, Bryce Young started a melee at Panthers camp.
Full-pads practices at training camp are a good way to get the competitive juices flowing. But sometimes, there’s too much juice.
According to multiple reports, a “heated scuffle” broke out at Carolina Panthers training camp on Aug. 10. The fight broke out after a live team period rep between the first-team offense and first-team defense, when Panthers safeties Lathan Ransom and Nick Scott reportedly laid a hard hit on running back Jonathon Brooks.
Carolina quarterback Bryce Young “started jawing” at the defense after the hit, which led to the scuffle that involved multiple offensive linemen and defensive back Mike Jackson.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.