Alabama football is one day into spring practice, meaning the Crimson Tide’s quarterback battle is already underway. With Jalen Milroe off to the NFL, Kalen DeBoer will be choosing between three options, with returnees Ty Simpson and Austin Mack competing alongside true freshman Keelon Russell.

Speaking to reporters after he came off the practice field in Tuscaloosa Monday, DeBoer was asked what the winner of the competition will show him.

“It’s got to be a guy who can deliver the ball, command the huddle, command everything we do with the team,” DeBoer said. “That presence, that belief and confidence in your signal caller. It starts with a lot of that — just the belief. The belief comes because you’re making the throws and you’re getting the ball in a fashion where they can go make their plays and reap the rewards of all the work they’ve put in.”

Simpson enters the battle as the presumed frontrunner, after serving as Milroe’s primary backup for the past two seasons. He’s the lone quarterback holdover from Nick Saban’s tenure as head coach.

Mack joined the Crimson Tide as a transfer from Washington, following DeBoer after redshirting his freshman season with the Huskies. He saw the field briefly against Mercer last year, and new UA offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was his primary recruiter at Washington.

Russell joins up as a five-star prospect from Texas. He was initially committed to SMU before flipping to Alabama, just before winning the Elite 11.

“He’s up there,” DeBoer said when asked where Russell ranks in terms of readiness among freshman quarterbacks. “He certainly is. He’s got a long way to go because I think that’s the way he looks at it. He’s excited about what this growth’s going to be even during this spring. But his ceiling and what he accomplished through what you can see on the high school film, he’s a pretty elite quarterback coming in as a high school senior current freshman for us.”

The position battle isn’t likely to be resolved during spring practice. Even after the first of 15 sessions, DeBoer was cagey about what the three signal-callers showed.

“It’s something that, they’re all at different points,” DeBoer said. “Few things procedure-wise that were a little different. Good to see those guys all operate through that. They had their times where, of course, they looked really good and times where they got to continue to grow and get better.”

Alabama will continue spring practice through April 12, when the A-Day game is scheduled.