Alabama's second QB commitment for 2026 shows Crimson Tide are playing chess Instead of checkers

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00:00On Tuesday, Alabama landed its second quarterback commitment for its 2026 recruiting class.

00:06But I think there's more than meets the eye when it comes to this commitment.

00:10And today, we're here to talk about why.

00:12Let's get after it.

00:16What is up, everybody?

00:18Clint Land with AZ Sports and Cover Crimson.

00:20So on Tuesday, Alabama landed its second commitment, quarterback commitment,

00:24to its 2026 recruiting class with Tayden Kava out of Utah.

00:29Now, he's originally from Hawaii, but he made the move to Utah.

00:32So if you were hearing me refer to him as a Hawaii kid or as a Utah kid,

00:36just understand he spent time in both places.

00:39Don't get confused.

00:40But the first quarterback commitment that Alabama already had was Jet Tomala,

00:44who made the flip from Iowa State last month, a four-star recruit,

00:48ranked as the number 11 quarterback according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

00:54And now Alabama has added Kava as a second quarterback.

00:58Now, when you look at his ranking, he's not rated nearly as high as Tomala is.

01:03He's a three-star recruit who the Rivals Industry Rankings have as the number 440 overall player,

01:10the number 26 quarterback.

01:12But the Rivals-specific rankings have him as a four-star,

01:16and the number 13 overall quarterback, ranked number 166 overall.

01:21So when it comes to Rivals' specific rankings, he's actually up there in a very similar ballpark to Jet Tomala.

01:29But a lot of the rest of the country or the rest of the recruiting services haven't really caught up

01:33to the talent that this kid brings to the table.

01:36And trust me, this guy is extremely toolsy.

01:38You know, he's a big guy, 6'5", 240 pounds right now.

01:42He brings a lot of pocket-winning ability.

01:45He wants to win from within the pocket.

01:47He'll step up in the pocket and deliver throws.

01:50But he has enough mobility where he can escape.

01:52He can make plays with his legs.

01:54You can even have some design quarterback runs if you want to.

01:58But that's not really where he wants to win.

02:00And I don't think that's where he's the most dynamic.

02:03I think he wants to, when he escapes, he wants to be able to make plays on the move.

02:07He can throw from various arm angles.

02:09He can make a lot of downfield throws.

02:11Has the arm strength to make any throw that you would ask of him.

02:15But I think it's a combination of size, mobility, arm strength,

02:20and he's just got a lot of winning tools that you can build around

02:23if you're Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, and the rest of this Alabama offensive system.

02:28Yes, I do think that he has some growing to do as far as the mental processing

02:33and seeing the picture a little bit faster.

02:35Which is why I think that the comparisons to DJ Uyangalele actually play.

02:40He's a big guy.

02:42Uyangalele was 6'5".

02:43He was 250 pounds.

02:45He had some mobility himself.

02:47He had the necessary skills from a physical standpoint,

02:51but he never developed as a processor.

02:53And that really caused him to struggle, whether it be at Clemson,

02:56whether it be at Oregon State some,

02:58or during his one year as the starting quarterback at Florida State.

03:02Now, just because Kava is similar to Uyangalele,

03:06as far as their physical skills, the size, the processing, all those things,

03:10that doesn't necessarily mean that Kava is going to be the same player.

03:14In fact, I think him not coming in with a five-star ranking like Uyangalele did

03:19is actually going to help him because he's not going to be asked to play sooner

03:24or before he's ready to.

03:27And I think that that is going to be a massive difference.

03:29This guy has a lot of tools,

03:31but he's got to learn some of the nuances of playing the position at a high level.

03:35But he'll be given that opportunity in Tuscaloosa,

03:38and you couldn't ask for a better coaching staff when it comes to quarterback development

03:42than, you know, Kalen DeBoer, Nick Sheridan, Ryan Grubb,

03:47and really the rest of this coaching staff that's going to be able to help put pieces

03:50around the quarterback to allow them to be successful.

03:53But here's what I like the most about this addition for Alabama.

03:57I like that they're signing two quarterbacks in this 2026 cycle,

04:00because if you think about it, there are numerous scenarios in 2026

04:06where Alabama loses two of the three players in that room compared to 2025.

04:12Ty Simpson could end up having a good enough year to move on to the NFL.

04:15Maybe if Keelan Russell ends up being the guy who was playing as the number two

04:19and he's being groomed as the starter for 2026,

04:21maybe you lose Austin Mack as well.

04:24Or maybe Ty Simpson elects to come back for another season,

04:27and now you got to worry about both Austin Mack and Keelan Russell.

04:30Like I said, there's a number of different ways that it can work out.

04:33But in today's college football and the fact that you've got the NFL draft

04:37and you've got the transfer portal that you have to worry about,

04:40you need to make sure that you're keeping your numbers in a healthy place

04:43when it comes to the quarterback room.

04:45Now, here's what I don't think is going to happen.

04:47Let's hypothetically say that Ty Simpson ends up leaving for the NFL.

04:51Let's say Keelan Russell has been kind of groomed to be the starting quarterback in 2026,

04:55and Austin Mack ends up leaving.

04:56I don't think Alabama's entering the 2026 season with what is going to be a second-year Keelan Russell,

05:02who probably at the most is going to have probably half a season of experience,

05:07and that's at the absolute most in my opinion.

05:10But I don't think they're going to have that player and two true freshmen behind him

05:14with absolutely no experience.

05:16So in that scenario, I could see Alabama going out and maybe getting a more experienced guy

05:20to come in and compete with Keelan Russell for the starting job

05:24while having two kind of toolsy developmental players for the future

05:28to kind of give you four total on this roster moving forward.

05:32Three is fine.

05:34A lot of schools are having to deal with three quarterbacks in this NIL transfer portal era.

05:39But I think if there are situations where you can get four,

05:42you definitely need to take four, and that will give you a lot of flexibility.

05:46And when it comes to the players that Alabama has added, whether it be Tamala or Kava,

05:51I don't think they're going to be looking to come in and be immediate contributors or immediate starters.

05:56They're more developmental guys.

05:58They have the tools, and they trust this coaching staff to be able to get the most out of those tools and ability.

06:03But they won't be pressing for immediate playing time.

06:06So maybe beyond 2026, you can kind of maintain some of these players

06:11and some of these numbers to keep your quarterback position or your quarterback room in a healthy place.

06:17So I love Kava.

06:18I love Tamala.

06:19I love the combination of skill sets that they bring to the table.

06:22I think you have two swings now.

06:25I bet they end up hitting on one of them down the road.

06:27We'll have to wait and see.

06:29But I think when you're talking about development

06:31and you're talking about maintaining a strong room,

06:34Alabama's coaching staff is playing chess while everybody else is playing checkers.

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