Spring practice has just begun for Alabama football, and while it is early to make major predictions for how the 2026 season will unfold, early speculation about how this fall will play out are unavoidable.
Here are three predictions for Alabama’s 2026 season as spring practice begins.
Alabama will field an All-SEC quarterback again
While Alabama finds itself with no clear starter and no one with starting experience at the position, Ty Simpson just set the precedent by being named All-SEC second team after the same kind of quarterback battle in the offseason.
Now, a year later, Alabama likely faces a two-man battle for the position again between redshirt freshman Keelon Russell and redshirt junior Austin Mack, with true freshmen Jett Thomalla and Tayden Kaawa likely to fall behind in the race due to inexperience.
The competition will not be much of a battle to see who is good enough to start, as it will be a race to see who is better. Mack, with a 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame, has shown signs of being an elite athlete at the position, capable of throwing with power and distance as well as beating defenders on the ground.
Russell, meanwhile, has less experience to his name but is the highest-ranked recruit in Alabama football history by 247Sports. Through high school and his redshirt freshman year, Russell’s play has been characterized by pinpoint accuracy, elite improvisation skills and subtle quickness when scrambling.
The two are both talented enough that, regardless of who wins the job, Alabama is likely to have yet another elite signal-caller and one of the best at the position in the SEC, if not the nation.
“We got exactly who we need,” offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “They’re two of the best quarterbacks in the country.”
An early road game will once again trouble the Crimson Tide
After a shocking loss to open the 2025 season on the road against Florida State, the team worked tirelessly to fix its away-game struggles and ended the season going 4-0 in the rest of its road games.
Although fans are hoping such struggles are behind this team, Alabama is set up to face another trap game on the road in its SEC opener against Kentucky in Week 2.
With the No. 37 transfer portal class in On3’s rankings and a rebuilt offense under new head coach Will Stein, Kentucky enters the year in a similar position to Florida State in 2025 with a totally reconstructed team and coaching staff that will be difficult to prepare for.
A new offense spearheaded by quarterback Kenny Minchey will likely challenge Alabama’s defense in its second game as a unit and keep Kentucky within reach throughout the game.
Although Alabama’s pure talent advantage is likely to end up proving decisive in a win, expect this matchup to be a one-score game that is close throughout and at times ugly for the Crimson Tide as it tries to figure things out in its second game as a rebuilt team.
Yhonzae Pierre will win SEC defensive player of the year
After coming off the bench behind Qua Russaw to start the season, Pierre enters 2026 as a legitimate candidate to be an All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year for his performance in 2025.
Pierre racked up eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss despite not starting until the fourth game of the year. In a win against Tennessee, he became the first Alabama player to have three sacks in a game since Will Anderson in 2021.
The biggest obstacle to Pierre bringing home the award will not be any limitations of his own, but his competition. South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart and Texas edge Colin Simmons will be hefty competition at the same position as Pierre, while teammate and safety Bray Hubbard could make his own run at the award as well.
If Pierre continues the trajectory of his 2025 production, he should finish the season as an All-American and will have a great chance to be the first Alabama player to win the award since Dallas Turner in 2023.
“I don’t mind doing whatever it takes for the team,” Pierre said after a win in his first start against Vanderbilt.
