Kalen DeBoer shares most important trait he wants to see in his starting quarterback

Kalen DeBoer knows there’s more than one way to skin a cat. That applies to his choices at starting quarterback throughout his coaching career, as Jake Haener was a much different player than Michael Penix Jr., and whoever Alabama chooses to start in 2025 won’t share many traits with Jalen Milroe. 

Regardless, DeBoer has seen immense success at quarterback throughout his coaching career, so what will he look for in the Crimson Tide’s starter in 2025? He spoke with former Alabama star Greg McElroy about it on the latest episode of Always College Football with Greg McElroy. 

“I think it’s just continued growth. They’re all on the right track. They’re all super invested, as you would expect,” DeBoer surmised. “I talked about a healthy competition and who they are as people. They are finding their ways to lead in their own way, because that’s probably the hardest thing when you have a quarterback battle. You want them not to step on each other’s toes, but they also need to kind of take it and run with it when they have their opportunities, and they need to speak up. That’s when you really find out who are the guys that the team, [when] the rest of the team follows along, not just the players on the field, but who they are as leaders.

“These guys are, again, balancing the reps. Keelon [Russell] started out lower and as he really earned more and more reps. We gave him those. They’re all making those strides in their own ways, taking the steps. I’ve mentioned many times we’re not where we need to be. That might sound like a knock on those guys, but that’s expected. There’s a progression, and there’s a process these guys have to be on. None of them have taken this overwhelming number of college snaps, especially in a game, much less, you know, with the ones on the practice field. So, we’re trying to keep them moving, speed up the process for all of them, while we’re also balancing the reps that each of them are getting. They’re earning those reps.

“I really appreciate the way they’ve handled it. Not trying to press too much is the thing for them. I think the pressure of fighting for a quarterback job is probably as stressful as anything they’re going to go through. Yeah, there’s moments in a game when, you know, a hundred thousand people are screaming. That’s pretty stressful, but what they’re doing, trying to win that job? That’s managing some level of stress, too. They’ve got to perform under those conditions. I think that’s one of the adverse situations that you actually put these guys in before they step on the football field game one that actually can help them.”

As you can tell, DeBoer is evaluating his three potential starters in Ty Simpson, Austin Mack and Keelon Russell on a fascinating basis. Whichever quarterback separates himself will have the hopes of Tuscaloosa on their shoulders, and it remains to be seen if he’s qualified to handle the weight.

The College Football Playoff is the standard, and Kalen DeBoer is searching for a starter who can lead Alabama there. We’ll see who he lands on, but there are certainly some interesting options for the Crimson Tide in 2025.