Is Alabama's Keelon Russell the most important player of 2026?
Oh man, will Alabama need a lot from the QB position this fall.Last season, quarterback Ty Simpson had to carry a massive load for the Crimson Tide. They had their worst run game in a generation -- 97th in rushing success rate, 127th in yards per carry (not including sacks) -- and star receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams battled a severe case of the yips, suffering a dismal 13.0% drop rate, easily the worst in the nation among players with at least 75 targets. Simpson got banged up and wore down as the year went on, and Bama averaged just 18.7 points in its last six games against FBS opponents. Strong defense and a run of close wins allowed Alabama to eke out a College Football Playoff bid, but poor late performances resulted in its worst SP+ ranking (20th) in 18 years. The defense should be excellent again, but now Simpson and almost the entire starting offensive line are gone.
Kalen DeBoer didn't load up on line experience in the portal either: Even with six incoming transfers, the O-line returns only 21 total starts from last season, and the offense could end up starting between five and seven freshman or sophomores overall. Yikes.
One of those youngsters, however, is Keelon Russell. The No. 2 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, Russell was an understudy for both Simpson and Austin Mack last season but shined in the spring. The battle for the starting job isn't over, and Mack certainly still has a chance to win the job. But to overcome the massive uncertainty and inexperience on the depth chart, Bama might need the raw upside that Russell supposedly brings to the table. If he's the real deal -- and we've seen plenty of redshirt freshmen absolutely explode onto the scene in recent seasons -- that would paper over some cracks. And Bama has more cracks than we're used to seeing.
