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By Cory Nightingale
Published:
Alabama will choose caution at quarterback on Saturday afternoon at Vanderbilt, according to a report on Friday afternoon by ESPN insider Pete Thamel.
Thamel reported that with regular starter Keelon Russell nursing an ankle injury, the Crimson Tide are “expected to start Austin Mack at quarterback against Vanderbilt on Saturday.”
This doesn’t mean that Russell is seriously hurt, Thamel cautioned. He reported that Russell is expected to be available against the Commodores in the 12:45 p.m. ET (SEC Network) kickoff from Nashville.
“But the expectation is the Tide staff holds (Russell) out and lets his ankle heal,” Thamel wrote on his social media.
Russell has been listed as probable for the Week 11 matchup in the Music City, and earlier on Friday there was a report from On3’s Pete Nakos and Chris Low that Russell would be a game-time decision for the Vanderbilt game.
But Thamel’s report later Friday pushed that game-time decision on Russell into a decision by Alabama to be safe and hold its star quarterback out against Vandy, figuring that Mack can hold down the fort and keep the Tide’s College Football Playoff and SEC title hopes alive with a road win.
Sources: Alabama is expected to start Austin Mack at quarterback against Vanderbilt on Saturday. Starter Keelon Russell (ankle) is expected to be available, but the expectation is the Tide staff holds him out and lets his ankle heal. Russell has been listed as probable. pic.twitter.com/9pxTdfyCeS
While Russell has exploded onto the college football scene in 2026, throwing for 2,263 yards and 18 touchdowns while running for 276 yards and 5 more TDs, Mack has hardly seen the field as his backup.
Mack has completed 3 of 4 passes for 23 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in mop-up duty, after Russell beat Mack out for the starting job during fall camp.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
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