Kalen DeBoer Sets Clear Timeline On Naming Alabama’s Starting QB

"There's been roughly a similar kind of time frame throughout fall camp," he said Monday on "Always College Football." "And the last week and a half, we usually have a little bit longer of a phase of game. We call them bonus practices leading up to week one. And there's a weekend before and then a few days before that. That's kind of when you'd really for sure like to have the starter named."

DeBoer spoke highly of the effort shown from Simpson, Mack and Russell. But he still needs to see more improvement from the group as a whole. 

"I think I've mentioned many times, we're not where we need to be, and that might sound like a knock on those guys, but that's expected," DeBoer said. "Like, there's a progression. There's a process these guys got to be on. None of them have taken this overwhelming number of college snaps, especially in a game, much less with the ones on the practice field."

DeBoer makes a good point, as the lack of experience is a potential concern. 

It's impossible to simulate true game environments at practice, but putting each passer through the pressure of competing for the starting nod could build the confidence needed to take the keys on Saturdays. 

"I think the pressure of fighting for a quarterback job is probably as stressful as anything they're going to go through," DeBoer said. "And there's moments in a game when 100,000 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. And they got to perform under those conditions."

Alabama will open the 2025 season on the road at Florida State on Aug. 30.