One Burning Question: Alabama Football

By Chris Marler

Who will start at QB for Alabama in 2025 and will it be better than 2024?

Alabama came into the 2024 season returning a lot of talent from the 2023 unit. Wide receiver was the only position in question from a talent and depth standpoint. Germie Bernard and freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams alleviated that issue early in the season. 

However, the drop-off in production from the first month of the season versus the remaining two was dramatic. Alabama averaged 19 points per game less from September to October. Granted, their September schedule featured non-conference opponents compared to SEC play in October. However, they still managed to score 41 points against Kirby Smart and Georgia that month. 

The inconsistencies became a glaring concern. The main reason is that those inconsistencies on the offense happened from week to week and game to game. Even worse, the disparities came in scoring, playcalling, and perhaps worst of all, their actual identity. 

By the end of the season, Alabama’s offensive play calling felt absolutely hamstrung by their quarterback, Jalen Milroe. This was especially the case in the run game. Milroe had 12 carries or more nine times in 13 games last season, while their starting running back Jam Miller got that many carries just six times. Former five star Justice Haynes had only one game where he got more than nine carries. 

The play calling was incredibly predictable and Milroe’s legs became a crutch for part of the offense. He became the fans’ scapegoat, following his performances at Tennessee and Oklahoma. Milroe played poorly in both. However, Alabama’s offensive identity from the Tennessee game to the end of the year was beyond puzzling. 

Against Tennessee, Alabama dropped back 49 times. That was never a recipe for success with Jalen Milroe under center. In the LSU game, he ran wild and had four rushing touchdowns in a must-win playoff elimination game. The disparity between those two game plans in a few weeks was mind-boggling. 

In 2025, what will this offense look like? Again, Milroe was the scapegoat for many regarding the offensive struggles late in the season. However, it’s hard to ignore that he recorded 36 touchdowns last season and 71 over the past two years as a starter.

Milroe’s replacement for 2025 will be fourth-year junior Ty Simpson or incoming freshman Keelon Russell. Simpson is a former five-star who has been on campus for four years. Russell is a five-star recruit, Elite 11 MVP, and the No. 2 overall player in the country. He is enrolling early to begin his college career.

Ideally, this will play out like the 2020 season for Alabama. Mac Jones beat out former No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Young that year. Jones had a phenomenal season, Alabama won a national title, and Bryce Young waited in the wings before starting his Heisman-winning career a year later. Can Alabama repeat that in 2025? Perhaps an even bigger question is: how hot the seat gets for Kalen DeBoer? 

The Mac Jones-Bryce Young season played out about as well as it could have. However, that was before the NIL era, which saw over 2,800 players enter the transfer portal, this year alone. Tampering is at an all-time high. Is the market price for quarterbacks in the portal at an all-time high? So, sitting one of the highest-ranked recruits in the country for a fourth-year quarterback with zero starting experience would be quite a gamble for Kalen DeBoer. 

We’ve seen other high-profile quarterbacks sit behind an incumbent veteran during their freshman year. Nico Iamaleava did it during his freshman season in Knoxville behind Joe Milton. However, DeBoer cannot afford another disappointing end to the season in his second year. He also cannot allow the quarterback situation to become a source of frustration, whether due to actual mismanagement or the perception of it.