RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesAlabama football will hold its first scrimmage of fall camp on Thursday, Aug. 13, and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will be looking for his top two quarterbacks − Austin Mack and Keelon Russell − to do more than just read defenses and deliver the ball.
He wants to see some command. Some leadership. And the ability to rally teammates at critical moments.
"One of the challenges is command of a practice. I want to know what it feels like when the chips are down a little bit in a practice or maybe we had a three and out and didn't move the ball, what do they look like? How do their teammates respond to them?," Grubb said Monday. "Certainly you can't just have the rah-rah guy start if he isn't moving the ball. But I'm looking for command because they're both capable physically of making all the plays."
The Crimson Tide opens the season Sept. 5 at home against East Carolina, giving head coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff less than three weeks to make a decision. DeBoer has said the sooner a starter can be named, the better, but isn't rushing the process with two inexperienced options, neither of whom has notched a career start yet. Grubb is hopeful the scrimmage will reveal more about the two candidates' resolve in the face of difficulty. To date, there hasn't been much else to separate them.
"I think if it's even money, (leadership) plays a really big part," Grubb added. "If all things are equal statistically, how they're playing, all those things, then you're always looking for the guy who can lead the football team a little bit better. But at the end of the day you still have to have a guy who can make plays. I've coached guys who are extremely quiet in practice and are exceptional leaders on Saturday. (Former Washington QB) Michael Penix was a great example of that."
Mack is a fourth-year junior who has been a reserve throughout his career at both Washington and Alabama . Russell, a former five-star recruit, is a true sophomore and DeBoer's first quarterback recruit at UA.
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Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at [email protected]. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football's Ryan Grubb discusses leadership factor in QB choice
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