On3’s Chris Low released his top 10 SEC quarterback rankings ahead of the 2026 college football season, and the Alabama Crimson Tide are nowhere to be found. No Austin Mack. No Keelon Russell. None of the quarterbacks competing for Alabama’s starting job made the cut, and that omission stands out as a glaring one given what we know about Kalen DeBoer’s track record with the position.

I get the reasoning on the surface. Alabama has a quarterback battle brewing, and we don’t know who the starter will be. That uncertainty makes it difficult to slot someone into a ranking. But here’s the thing: it shouldn’t matter which quarterback wins the job. DeBoer has proved one thing if he has proved anything during his tenure in Tuscaloosa, and it’s that he’s going to have high-level quarterback play under center.

DeBoer’s track record speaks for itself

This isn’t speculation. DeBoer has consistently developed and elevated quarterbacks at every stop in his coaching career. The idea that Alabama won’t produce a top-10 SEC quarterback in 2026 requires you to believe that pattern suddenly breaks, and I just don’t see it.

That’s no shot at the Byrum Browns or the Marcel Reeds of the world, or anyone else who made the list. There is quality depth at the position across the SEC. But Alabama’s quarterback room has the talent, the coaching, and the system to produce elite play regardless of which name is on the depth chart.

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The quarterback battle shouldn’t be a disqualifier

The truth is, a quarterback competition should inspire more confidence, not less. Mack and Russell are both capable players, and the fact that they’re pushing each other in camp should only raise the floor for whoever emerges as the starter. DeBoer isn’t going to hand the job to someone who can’t operate at a high level within his offense.

I truly don’t see a world where we look up in December, or January for that matter, and say Alabama’s season fell apart because of quarterback play. Maybe the Crimson Tide falter for other reasons. Maybe they don’t take the year-three leap under DeBoer that everyone expects. But if something goes wrong in Tuscaloosa, I really struggle to see it being because of the player taking snaps under center.

The bottom line

Leaving Alabama completely off a top-10 SEC quarterback list feels wrong. The uncertainty at the position is real, but the program’s track record under DeBoer suggests that whoever wins the job will perform at a level worthy of inclusion. This ranking will look like an oversight by the time conference play rolls around.