BATON ROUGE, La. — As Alabama swarmed its fans following the final whistle in its 31-13 win over LSU, Austin Mack removed himself from the celebration.

"Keelon! Keelon!" Mack yelled into the crowd of Alabama players.

Mack was searching for the guy who beat him in the quarterback battle this summer, the guy who is the reason he's sitting on the bench in his fourth year of college football.

"Let's get a photo!"

Mack found Russell, fresh off the biggest win of his career, in the crowd. He then scanned the field and located the next man he was looking for.

"Jett! Jett!"

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Third-string freshman quarterback Jett Thomalla heard Mack instantly and made his way over to the pair. They were joined a moment later by John Gazzaniga, a 6-foot-7 former walk-on who saw his only career action last November against Eastern Illinois, and they all took their photo together. The moment, commemorating the Crimson Tide's top-15 win, was just a snapshot of the leadership that Mack has displayed all season as the veteran in the room.

"He gives me so many key points," Russell said. "In today's game, when they were bringing pressure, like, he told me, hey, just look out for this, look out for that. You know, even on the set, he was like, 'Hey, this is the point of this,' and just understand this, and blah blah blah. Austin is a big help."

Russell played the cleanest game of his career in Death Valley. The sophomore completed 17-of-24 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and did not turn the ball over. Nothing, from a stagnant run game to pre-snap penalties to a ferocious Tigers' defensive front to his third-quarter ankle injury, could stop the Alabama starter.

When the story of Russell's Alabama career is told, Mack will be a part of it. From the time they spent together as backups under Ty Simpson last year to the offseason spent competing for the starting job, Mack has helped, and continues to help, Russell grow.

In three months, Mack will be settling in at his new home. It will likely be a Power Four school that will pay him handsomely to be its starting quarterback. But for now, he's an integral piece of a tight-knit Alabama QB room, and one of Russell's closest confidants.

"I feel like we have the best brotherhood there is all over the country," Russell said. "We spend time with each other, we love each other. It's just these guys pour in so pour into me so much, so I just love those guys."