Alabama football began its A-Day spring practice with some 11-on-11 offense. The Crimson Tide did not look to be going full-contact, but after finishing warmups, the first team offense and defense took the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The story of the offseason, just like every other year the position is up for grabs, is the Alabama quarterback battle. When the first group trotted out for the practice, Ty Simpson was the first signal-caller on the field.

The redshirt junior is the longest-tenured member of the quarterback room. He joined the Crimson Tide in the 2022 recruiting class, and served as the team’s primary backup for the past two seasons, behind Jalen Milroe.

Simpson led the team down the field on the first drive, though UA mostly relied on run plays. After the first drive, Simpson and the first group stepped off.

The second team was initially led by Austin Mack. Mack joined Alabama last year, following head coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington, where he redshirted the 2023 season.

Mack was the lone quarterback in the group to have new Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb as his primary recruiter out of high school. He threw one touchdown for the Tide last season, seeing action in the Mercer game.

With the second-team offense still on the field, Mack gave way to Keelon Russell midway through the drive. Russell, the lone true freshman in the competition, threw an interception, to fellow youngster Ivan Taylor.

Russell joined up as a five-star prospect out of Texas this offseason. He was initially committed to SMU, before flipping to the Crimson Tide, and was named Elite 11 MVP before arriving on campus.

DeBoer has said that Russell has been performing well through spring practice, and all three remain in contention for the starting job. However, the coach said after UA’s second scrimmage that Simpson and Mack were receiving the majority of first-team reps, largely due to their experience in the offensive system.

“Keelon definitely works in with the twos,” DeBoer said. “He’ll get one reps from time to time, but that’s no indication of really where we feel he’s at, he’s killing it.”

Alabama’s A-Day practice is not being televised this season. The event featured free admission at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and is an open practice, not a game or scrimmage as in years past.