TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Now and then Kalen DeBoer will hear some unexpected noises coming from within Alabama's facility in the early hours of the morning. More often than not, it's the sound of backup quarterback Austin Mack getting a few extra reps in before practice.

"He's one of the hardest workers on the team," DeBoer said when asked about Mack following Wednesday's practice. "There's a lot of guys that pour a lot into it. He's doing stuff on his own, pretty much every day. You pick an early-morning time when we don't have a practice, he's doing something in some facility in here. You bounce around and all of a sudden you hear a ball being thrown or something moving -- he's one of those guys.

"He's a gym rat and he's really -- reps, I've said it kind of a lot of different times in a lot of different ways whether its staff and our reps or players' reps - really help you gain confidence because the preparation leads to that."

Mack played in just one game this season after following DeBoer over from Washington. He made the most of that appearance, completing 2 of 3 passes against Mercer, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Rico Scott.