Alabama officially has a quarterback competition for 2026.

Austin Mack and Keelon Russell have both re-signed for another season with the Crimson Tide, Alabama’s NIL collective announced Friday.

Mack is heading into his fourth season of college football and fourth working under coach Kalen DeBoer. Meanwhile, Russell is set to enter his second season with Alabama.

The two will compete to replace Ty Simpson as Alabama’s starting quarterback. Simpson announced Wednesday he will enter the NFL Draft.

The re-signings are noteworthy because teams across college football are searching for quarterbacks, and it’s no secret quarterback-needy teams find ways to make known to quarterbacks through third parties what their opportunities might be if they enter the transfer portal.

But Alabama managed to secure both Mack and Russell, indicating both are willing to compete for the starting job.

What was a given not even half a decade ago is no longer a foregone conclusion. Roster retention is just as important, if not more important, than roster additions in this era of revenue sharing, NIL and paying players directly.

Mack is the lone quarterback of the two who has played significant snaps so far. When Simpson left the Rose Bowl early in the second half with a cracked rib, Mack replaced him and finished out the game. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 103 yards.

Over four games of action in 2025, primarily as Simpson’s backup, Mack completed 24 of 32 passes for 228 yards, two touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.

Russell was the third quarterback on the depth chart during his freshman season, completing 11 of 15 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Russell is a former five-star quarterback, ranked as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 2 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports.

FARGO — There is one week left in the NCAA transfer portal and then the national FCS head coach nightmare will be over. Or at least let’s hope so.

It’s been eight days since the last North Dakota State player announced he was going into the portal, perhaps a sign that the bleeding has stopped. Bison players who receive funds from the Green and Gold Fund, the collective that pays players directly from the athletic department, sign contracts that in theory commit them to the school.

But in NCAA football, what’s a contract these days?

Maybe there’s hope on the horizon.

ESPN earlier this week reported quarterback Demond Williams Jr. signed an NIL deal to remain at the University of Washington, but then announced he was leaving to pursue another school. Imagine that happening in the NFL. It doesn’t, at least it’s not that simple.

But back to the college game and Williams Jr., the university didn’t take too kindly to that, as it shouldn’t, and there were reports Washington was prepared to fight back. This is not a $10,000 check maybe a Bison football player would receive.

This is about millions of dollars.

Guess what? Williams Jr. on Thursday put on Instagram that he was “fully committed” and is returning to Washington. Imagine that. Perhaps somebody got to him with the following logic: Demond, do you want to hire a lawyer for a lot of money with no guarantee you’ll win just to transfer to, say, LSU? It’s a reminder of the famous “Seinfeld” line when Jerry was at an airport car rental desk. His vehicle wasn’t immediately available and that didn’t sit well with him. “You can take the reservation but you can’t hold the reservation.”

The point being holding, honoring a contract, is the most important part.

Maybe, just maybe, the players finally met their match. On that note, the NCAA denied a waiver request for another year of eligibility of Ole’ Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. I never thought I would see the NCAA deny any sort of waiver again.

NIL contracts? Before Williams Jr. reversed course, they held about as much water as Death Valley in California. The agent who represented Williams Jr., who is also the agent for Washington head coach Jedd Fisch, put on social media he ended his representation with the quarterback because of “philosophical differences.”

NDSU players signing NIL contracts with the Green and Gold Fund are important, with both parties. With the school, the hope is the players honor the deal. For the player, it’s a guarantee they’ll get paid.

There are stories that Bison players who transferred to a bigger school in the past didn’t receive what they were promised. A contract is a security blanket, because it’s doubtful a school would want a reputation of reneging on NIL deals.

It’s all part of the mishmash of the modern world of college football that is screwed up on so many levels, including the calendar of events of the transfer portal and coaches leaving for other schools.

Nick Saban has a point, when on an ESPN “College GameDay” pregame show, the former Alabama head coach suggested taking on more of an NFL model with the calendar. He advocated to move signing day to summer, start the season earlier, move the portal to the end of the school year and then change spring football from March or April to after the portal dates to summer, like the NFL teams do with their Organized Team Activity (OTAs) after the draft.

It would avoid coaches leaving their current school for another during a playoff run, like the Lane Kiffin fiasco from Mississippi to LSU. NDSU went through it to a degree, but Craig Bohl stayed through the 2013 national title game before leaving for Wyoming and Chris Klieman stayed through the ‘18 championship game before heading to Kansas State.

That’s laughable now. But there is this: Maybe the pendulum has reached its peak and will swing the other way.

Let’s hope so.

Jeff Kolpack, the son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. He has covered all 10 of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written four books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough,” “Covid Kids” and “They Caught Them Sleeping: How Dot Reinvented the Pretzel.” He is also the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.

By ANDREW DESTIN and TERESA WALKER
Associated Press

A quarterback reportedly reneging on a lucrative deal to hit the transfer portal, only to return to his original school. Another starting QB, this one in the College Football Playoff, awaiting approval from the NCAA to play next season, an expensive NIL deal apparently hanging in the balance. A defensive star, sued by his former school after transferring, filing a lawsuit of his own.

It is easy to see why many observers say things are a mess in college football even amid a highly compelling postseason.

“It gets crazier and crazier. It really, really does,” said Sam Ehrlich, a Boise State legal studies professor who tracks litigation against the NCAA. He said he might have to add a new section for litigation against the NCAA stemming just from transfer portal issues.

“I think a guy signing a contract and then immediately deciding he wants to go to another school, that’s a kind of a new thing,” he said. “Not new kind of historically when you think about all the contract jumping that was going on in the ’60s and ’70s with the NBA. But it’s a new thing for college sports, that’s for sure.”

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. said late Thursday he will return to school for the 2026 season rather than enter the transfer portal, avoiding a potentially messy dispute amid reports the Huskers were prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams’ name, image and likeness contract.

Edge rusher Damon Wilson is looking to transfer after one season at Missouri, having been sued for damages by Georgia over his decision to leave the Bulldogs. He has countersued.

Then there is Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who reportedly has a new NIL deal signed but is awaiting an NCAA waiver allowing him to play another season as he and the Rebels played Thursday night’s Collge Football Playoff semifinal against Miami. On the Hurricanes roster: Defensive back Xavier Lucas, whose transfer from Wisconsin led to a lawsuit against the Hurricanes last year with the Badgers claiming he was improperly lured by NIL money. Lucas has played all season for Miami. The case is pending.

What to do?

Court rulings have favored athletes of late, winning them not just millions in compensation but the ability to play immediately after transferring rather than have to sit out a year as once was the case. They can also discuss specific NIL compensation with schools and boosters before enrolling and current court battles include players seeking to play longer without lower-college seasons counting against their eligibility and ability to land NIL money while doing it.

Ehrlich compared the situation to the labor upheaval professional leagues went through before finally settling on collective bargaining, which has been looked at as a potential solution by some in college sports over the past year. Athletes.org, a players association for college athletes, recently offered a 38-page proposal of what a labor deal could look like.

“I think NCAA is concerned, and rightfully so, that anything they try to do to tamp down this on their end is going to get shut down,” Ehrlich said. “Which is why really the only two solutions at this point are an act of Congress, which feels like an act of God at this point, or potentially collective bargaining, which has its own major, major challenges and roadblocks.”

The NCAA has been lobbying for years for limited antitrust protection to keep some kind of control over the new landscape – and to avoid more crippling lawsuits – but bills have gone nowhere in Congress.

Collective bargaining is complicated and universities have long balked at the idea that their athletes are employees in some way. Schools would become responsible for paying wages, benefits, and workers’ compensation. And while private institutions fall under the National Labor Relations Board, public universities must follow labor laws that vary from state to state; virtually every state in the South has “right to work” laws that present challenges for unions.

Ehrlich noted the short careers for college athletes and wondered whether a union for collective bargaining is even possible.

A harder look at contracts

To sports attorney Mit Winter, employment contracts may be the simplest solution.

“This isn’t something that’s novel to college sports,” said Winter, a former college basketball player who is now a sports attorney with Kennyhertz Perry. “Employment contracts are a huge part of college sports, it’s just novel for the athletes.”

Employment contracts for players could be written like those for coaches, he suggested, which would offer buyouts and prevent players from using the portal as a revolving door.

“The contracts that schools are entering into with athletes now, they can be enforced, but they cannot keep an athlete out of school because they’re not signing employment contracts where the school is getting the right to have the athlete play football for their school or basketball or whatever sport it is,” Winter said. “They’re just acquiring the right to be able to use the athlete’s NIL rights in various ways. So, a NIL agreement is not going to stop an athlete from transferring or going to play whatever sport it is that he or she plays at another school.”

There are challenges here, too, of course: Should all college athletes be treated as employees or just those in revenue-producing sports? Can all injured athletes seek workers’ compensation and insurance protection? Could states start taxing athlete NIL earnings?

Winter noted a pending federal case against the NCAA could allow for athletes to be treated as employees more than they currently are.

“What’s going on in college athletics now is trying to create this new novel system where the athletes are basically treated like employees, look like employees, but we don’t want to call them employees,” Winter said. “We want to call them something else and say they’re not being paid for athletic services. They’re being paid for use of their NIL. So, then it creates new legal issues that have to be hashed out and addressed, which results in a bumpy and chaotic system when you’re trying to kind of create it from scratch.”

He said employment contracts would allow for uniform rules, including how many schools an athlete can go to or if the athlete can go to another school when the deal is up. That could also lead to the need for collective bargaining.

“If the goal is to keep someone at a school for a certain defined period of time, it’s got to be employment contracts,” Winter said.

In November, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss filed a waiver petition to receive a sixth year of eligibility. He transferred to Ole Miss ahead of the 2025 season after spending four years at Division II program Ferris State.

Following the Rebels’ stellar 13-2 season and appearance in the College Football Playoff Semifinals, the ruling on Chambliss’ eligibility has finally been handed down from the NCAA.

The Grand Rapids native’s waiver has officially been denied, dealing a massive blow to Pete Golding and the Ole Miss Rebels. Chambliss will now head to the NFL Draft, where he sits at No. 4 on Mel Kiper Jr.’s quarterback rankings. He is slotted behind Oregon‘s Dante Moore, Indiana‘s Fernando Mendoza, and Alabama‘s Ty Simpson.

Chambliss opened the season as Austin Simmons‘ backup, but assumed starting duties once Simmons suffered an injury in the Rebels’ 30-23 victory over Kentucky on Sept. 6. Not only did Chambliss serviceably fill in for Simmons, but he evolved into one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. He passed for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns with just three interceptions this season, along with rushing for 527 yards and eight more scores.

Ole Miss‘ starting quarterback passed for at least 300 yards in eight games and finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting. He cemented himself as a program legend thanks to his performance in the Rebels’ 39-34 win over No. 3 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, where he pulled off multiple spectacular plays to clinch the historic victory.

NCAA’s Full Statement on Trinidad Chambliss:

“In November, Ole Miss filed a waiver request for football student-athlete Trinidad Chambliss, seeking to extend his five-year Division I eligibility clock, citing an incapacitating illness or injury. Approval requires schools to submit medical documentation provided by a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness, which was not provided. The documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s prior school include a physician’s note from a December 2022 visit, which stated the student-athlete was “doing very well” since he was seen in August 2022.”

“Additionally, the student-athlete’s prior school indicated it had no documentation on medical treatment, injury reports or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during that time frame and cited “developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances” as its reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season. The waiver request was denied. This decision aligns with consistent application of NCAA rules. So far this academic year, the NCAA has received 784 clock extension requests (438 in football). Of those, 25 cases cited an incapacitating injury (nine in football). The NCAA approved 15 of those (six in football), and all 15 provided medical documentation from the time of the injury. Conversely, all 10 that were denied (three in football) did not provide the required medical documentation.”

“To receive a clock extension, a student-athlete must have been denied two seasons of competition for reasons beyond the student’s or school’s control, and a “redshirt” year can be used only once. One of the rules being cited publicly (Bylaw 12.6.4.2.2) is not the correct rule for the type of waiver requested by the school. Ole Miss applied for the waiver in November, and the NCAA first provided a verbal denial Dec. 8.”

Chambliss will now head off to the NFL, while Pete Golding and Ole Miss scramble to find a replacement at the position. Austin Simmons, who Chambliss replaced, announced his transfer to Missouri on Jan. 6.

While chaos has blanketed college football in the state and more than 30% of college players are in the transfer portal, BYU coach Kalani Sitake’s regime has, well, kind of escaped.

As of Friday afternoon, not one starter from the 2025 team has left for the transfer portal.

Sitake lost his defensive coordinator, Jay Hill, who took his cornerback coach, Jernaro Gilford, with him. But nobody followed them. Not one player.

Knock on wood.

That’s the roster heading into this weekend.

Why?

Well, one could preach culture or momentum, all that stuff. But it boils down to one single huge factor that clearly stands out since the Cougars defeated Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.

BYU has become a player-driven team.

Like 100%.

And that is a huge factor heading into winter workouts, spring practice, acceptance of returning players from church missions, and a sprinkling of transfer portal players expected to be announced in the coming days.

Hill’s replacement, Kelly Poppinga, told a BYUtv audience Friday that the retention effort began the day after the bowl game. He described coaches taking to the phones for 12 hours a day to re-recruit their stars.

But that was matched or even surpassed by player-driven emotions wanting to keep it rolling, to come back.

Now, nobody’s naive enough to think this wasn’t done without BYU’s collectives and revenue-sharing program having a lot to do with shoring up NIL contracts.

That’s reality today.

But it was done, starting with some of the most prized players, like honorable mention All-America safety Faletau Satuala, whom many believed would be targeted by Hill and Michigan.

But, somewhat surprisingly, Satuala announced his return quickly. So did tackle Keanu Tanuvasa, Isaiah Glasker, Siale Esera and other defenders.

The offense followed, capped by Big 12 offensive player of the year running back LJ Martin.

Poppinga said he expects the late news on corner Evan Johnson, BYU’s best cover athlete, is soon to come out in BYU’s favor.

That is quite remarkable.

On Friday, USC tight end Walker Lyons, older brother of QB commit Ryder Lyons, announced he was transferring to BYU to compete for departing Ryan Carsen’s job.

On the day Hill announced he would follow his friend Kyle Whittingham to Michigan, it became a full three days of working the phones, said Poppinga.

“Ultimately, I just think the players love Kalani. And a lot of those guys, all of them, came to play for him. Hill would say the same thing. Jay is a humble guy, and he sees things, he knows that no one person or player is bigger than them.”

Poppinga said BYU players ran this team with a feeling of retention and continuity.

“Obviously, us coaches, you’ve got to put them in the right positions and make sure that we’re making the right adjustments and doing the right things. But when you have great players and great leadership, I think everything else takes care of itself.”

Corner Tre Alexander began his own campaign to maintain the roster on TV right after Jay Hill announced he was going to Michigan. He then texted Poppinga, saying, “Coach, just so you know. I ain’t going anywhere.”

“And he’s like, ‘And I’m going to call everybody right now. I’m going to help you out to keep everybody here.’

“He’s the best,” said Poppinga.

“He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m rallying the troops.’

“And then a couple of hours later, he’s like, ‘Coach, nobody’s leaving.’”

Poppinga: “There are so many pieces to this thing. And it’s just not one player, one coach. I think it’s just the collective unit that we have. It’s been special. And it all starts with Kalani and his leadership and just this culture he has here.”

Sitake, said Poppinga, was the biggest portal guy when Penn State came calling.

“He went in the portal and stayed.”

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss saw his season end on Thursday night, and on Friday, potentially his college career. The NCAA formally rejected a request for a sixth year of eligibility, with which he would have been able to return to the Rebels as their starting QB once more.

Instead, Chambliss has two options in front of him. Ole Miss can still appeal the NCAA’s ruling in an attempt to retain Chambliss and have him play out the deal he had agreed to for 2026 that was pending NCAA granting additional eligibility, or Chambliss can enter the NFL Draft to continue his football career in the pros, instead. Given the NCAA’s reasoning for their refusal to grant the additional year of eligibility, an appeal doesn’t guarantee any kind of success. 

Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said his school will appeal the ruling.

“We are disappointed with today’s announcement by the NCAA and plan to appeal the decision to the Committee level,” Carter said in a social media post, in which he included the flag of Trinidad and Tobago. “Additionally, we will continue to work in conjunction with Trinidad’s representatives in other avenues of support.”

Tom Mars, who is an attorney for Chambliss, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the NCAA’s decision. “The last time I checked, however, the only score that matters is the one at the end of the fourth quarter,” Mars said.

“I understand that Ole Miss will file an appeal with the NCAA. However, there’s now an opportunity to move this case to a level playing field where Trinidad’s rights will be determined by the Mississippi judiciary instead of some bureaucrats in Indianapolis who couldn’t care less about the law or doing the right thing,” Mars said. “Whether to pursue that course of action is a decision only Trinidad and his parents can make.”

[Beck? Kiffin? 4 Takeaways From Miami’s CFP Semifinal Win Over Ole Miss]

In its own statement, the NCAA explained the reason for the rejection by giving background to how the process works in general, how it worked for Chambliss and what was lacking for the decision to go in his and Ole Miss’ favor.

“In November, Ole Miss filed a waiver request for football student-athlete Trinidad Chambliss, seeking to extend his five-year Division I eligibility clock, citing an incapacitating illness or injury. Approval requires schools to submit medical documentation provided by a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness, which was not provided. The documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s prior school include a physician’s note from a December 2022 visit, which stated the student-athlete was “doing very well” since he was seen in August 2022. Additionally, the student-athlete’s prior school indicated it had no documentation on medical treatment, injury reports or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during that time frame and cited “developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances” as its reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season. The waiver request was denied.”

The “prior school” mentioned by the NCAA is Division II Ferris State, at which Chambliss was a redshirt freshman in 2021 before moving into a backup role and then becoming a national champion as its starter in 2024. 

The NCAA elaborated that, “To receive a clock extension, a student-athlete must have been denied two seasons of competition for reasons beyond the student’s or school’s control, and a “redshirt” year can be used only once. One of the rules being cited publicly (Bylaw 12.6.4.2.2) is not the correct rule for the type of waiver requested by the school. Ole Miss applied for the waiver in November, and the NCAA first provided a verbal denial Dec. 8.”

Chambliss led the SEC in passing yards in 2025 with 3,937 while throwing 22 touchdowns against just 3 interceptions. He finished eighth in the Heisman voting overall and fifth among quarterbacks, behind Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and the winner of the 2025 Heisman, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Chambliss led Ole Miss to the College Football Player for the first time, and the Rebels’ 13 wins are a school record.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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