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….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/sabans-last-quarterback-alabamas-ty-simpson-carries-the-weight-of-history-expectation-145701526.html
Author : Jay Busbee
Publish date : 2025-08-12 14:57:00
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