US LBM Coaches Poll: Texas Longhorns No. 1
The US LBM Coaches Poll is back for another season and Paul Myerberg breaks down the storylines to know in the preseason.
Sports Pulse
A new starting quarterback hasn’t proven to be a major roadblock for teams chasing the College Football Playoff and national championship.
To name two recent examples: Ohio State won last year’s title with Kansas State transfer Will Howard as its starter, while runner-up Notre Dame was led by Duke transfer Riley Leonard.
Both teams are evaluating their two new options at quarterback without any change in expectations: to win every game they play and be the last team standing at Hard Rock Stadium in January.
Neither race has been settled as we turn toward the start of fall camp. Likewise with key battles involving several additional teams with legitimate playoff hopes, including Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee.
These Power Four quarterback competitions will define the final weeks leading into the regular season and shape the chase for the national title:
Alabama
Contenders: Austin Mack, Keelon Russell and Ty Simpson.
While the competition is ongoing, Mack and Russell are clearly running behind Simpson, who completed 25 of 45 attempts in two seasons as Alabama’s backup to Jalen Milroe. Comments made back in the spring by new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb – that Simpson would’ve been the starter had the year started then, basically – makes this competition close to a foregone conclusion. In fact, the bigger competition at this point is for the backup role between Mack, a sophomore, and Russell, a five-star true freshman.
Starter: Simpson. The fourth-year junior has the edge in experience and in coach Kalen DeBoer’s system. He’s the overwhelming favorite to be in the starting lineup for the Tide’s opener at Florida State.
