Alabama tight end Marshall Pritchett provided a scouting report on the two quarterbacks competing for the starting job.
Alabama's quarterback competition will likely reach a crescendo in the coming days.
The Tide's first scrimmage is set for Thursday, and a decision on a starter could quite possibly come into focus following the August 20 scrimmage as preparation begins in earnest for the season opener against East Carolina.
One of Alabama's returning offensive players who could see a bigger role this season is sophomore tight end Marshall Pritchett, and he provided a glimpse into the quarterback battle between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell during Saturday's media day.
"Austin is an incredibly knowledgeable quarterback," Pritchett said. "He's a great buddy of mine, and very thankful for him. He's a true prototype NFL quarterback. He's a huge kid. Every day I see the guy, I feel like he's growing. You get in the huddle with Austin, there's no confusion as to what the play call is -- and neither with Keelon, I'm not saying that.
"I'm just saying if you get in there, Austin is very straightforward. You get the call, line up. Austin is going to deliver. He's a very smart quarterback and very dependable. The guy is gonna have a great year -- whoever it is, him or Keelon. They're all gonna ball out. Not worried about who it is."
Mack turned 20 in June but graduated from Alabama last month and enters his fourth year of college football, all in Kalen DeBoer's system. At 6-foot-6 and 237 pounds, Mack has looked the part not just to Pritchett but also to offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who said last year of Mack, "He looks like if you went out to an NFL game and you watched some guys throw before a game. That's what they look like."
And what about Russell?
Cornerback Zabien Brown referred to the 6-foot-3, 207-pound, five-star sophomore as "lightning in a bottle" at SEC media days, and Pritchett used a variation on that theme.
"Keelon is like dynamite in a bottle," Pritchett said. "The guy is an incredible athlete. Incredible football thrower. It's so hard to explain his game if you kind of haven't seen it in person every day like we do. He just makes throws and it's like, rewind the film -- there's no way that happened. How did this happen? That's the only way to explain Keelon. The guy is dynamite."
Speculation around Alabama's quarterback battle has persisted but all signals continue to point to a closely-contested race.
"They're in a tough spot -- both of them, regardless of who you might feel should win the job or whatever," wide receiver Rico Scott told BamaCentral on Saturday. "Because any time I go on my phone, that's all they're talking about is the quarterback position battle. They're both humble about it. They have a great approach to the game, so ultimately it's going to work out for both of them."
Alabama has completed three of 18 fall camp practices before it enters its first game week prior to the September 5 opener.
"If I'm being completely honest, I've just been seeing their best every single day," wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams said of the quarterbacks Saturday, via WVUA-TV. "Obviously, it's early. First week of camp, so the entire offense -- we have things we need to work on. But both of them have been moving extremely efficient. Just commanding the offense, being fluent, taking those risks. If we're going to do it, this is the time to do it.
"They're really feeding off each other. Keelon played extremely well in the A-Day game, and they've really just been bouncing back and forth off each other and it's been extremely exciting to see this offseason."