There’s an old line about power in Alabama. The governor is only the fifth-most important person in the state, behind — in order — the head football coaches of Alabama and Auburn, followed by the starting quarterbacks of both schools.
In other words, Ty Simpson — who’s spent the last three years in Tuscaloosa as a backup — is about to become one of the most significant figures in the state of Alabama, and by association, college football as a whole.
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Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer named Simpson the starter in a team meeting earlier this week, codifying Simpson’s long, long, long rise to the throne. The fact that Simpson is still in an Alabama uniform is impressive enough in the portal-on-a-moment’s-notice era, but the role he occupies in Alabama history has some small — for now — significance as well.
Simpson is the last quarterback recruited by Nick Saban, one of the dwindling links to Alabama’s glorious 2000s dynasty. He was the No. 2 recruit in the 2022 class behind Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, and redshirted behind Heisman Trophy winner and future Carolina Panther Bryce Young in 2022. Simpson was unable to beat out Jalen Milroe in the spring of 2023 for the starting slot, a job Milroe held for the final year of Saban’s reign and last year’s nine-win debut for DeBoer.
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With Milroe off to the Seattle Seahawks, Simpson had the inside line on the job, though he still needed to beat out redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and true freshman Keelon Russell. Simpson impressed DeBoer and new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb enough that they signaled in the spring that the job was his, and he kept up the pace throughout the summer.
“Ty throws a catchable ball,” DeBoer said last month at SEC Media Days. “He’s smart. He’s been in college football now going into year four. He’s seen the ups and downs. He’s got great relationships with the team. He’s a leader that way. He’s really owned things on another level.”
Simpson has projected confidence to Alabama fans. “When I get on the field, Alabama fans should know I’m going to do everything it takes to win,” Simpson said in a recent video posted by his father Jason, head coach at UT-Martin. “I’m going to make sure I’m the toughest guy on the field. I’m going to make sure I win. I’m going to make sure I know everything that’s coming. I’m going to get the guys around me the ball.”
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Listed at 6-2 and 208 pounds, Simpson has little actual in-game experience, throwing for exactly zero touchdowns to date in his Alabama career. Saban threw him into the fire against South Florida two years ago when Milroe struggled, and Simpson responded by leading Alabama to 17 unanswered points, throwing for 73 yards and rushing for a touchdown. (Again: against South Alabama, but still.)
After waiting three years on the bench, Ty Simpson will finally get his first start for Alabama against Florida State in Tallahassee. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
(Butch Dill via Getty Images)
“Going through a quarterback competition, that’s pressure alone,” DeBoer said. “These guys are going through pressure every throw. Whether it was a competition or not, we would analyze it, break it down, chart it. Every throw and drive that these guys are a part of, it’s critical to them winning the job. I think sometimes going through a competition prepares you for the pressures that are going to come within a season.”
Simpson will also live under the pressures of recent history. The Tide’s last five starting quarterbacks — Milroe, Young, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts — have won national championships, Heismans, NFL jobs and Super Bowls. A mere CFP berth just isn’t going to cut it against that legacy.
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Plus, unlike those other five quarterbacks, Simpson won’t be tasked with just maintaining the previous season’s standard; he’ll need to elevate it. Alabama as a team is coming off its first single-digit-win season since Saban’s first year, all the way back in 2007, missing the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff as a result. Whatever honeymoon DeBoer might have enjoyed is over; the pressure on Alabama and Simpson to win, and win right now, is paramount.
The Tide begins the 2025 season against Florida State on Aug. 30, and Alabama fans will find out then if Simpson was worth the three-year wait.
