Alabama QB commit Ty Simpson not worried about loaded depth chart
One of the biggest upsides of playing at Alabama for Martin (Tenn.) Westview quarterback Ty Simpson is the Tide’s depth. No one else in college football puts quite the level of talent together year in and year out as Nick Saban does. When you’re at a position where only one player can start, though, that kind of depth can be daunting.
The Crimson Tide already boast Heisman frontrunner Bryce Young, who has burned just one year of eligibility so far. Also in the quarterback room is 2021 consensus four-star Jalen Milroe. Oh, and Alabama is one of the six schools heavily involved in the sweepstakes for Arch Manning, the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 On100 rankings.
Simpson, a five-star and the No. 32 overall prospect in the On3 Consensus rankings, doesn’t seem overly concerned, though. Any elite program is going to stack multiple stud quarterbacks together. And that’s no different for the defending national champions.
“Looking at Mac’s (Jones) situation and how he waited for his turn, and that’s what makes Alabama — Alabama,” Simpson told the Jackson Sun Friday night. So when I get my turn, I’m going to make the most of it and see where it takes me.”
Ty Simpson has all the tools
The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder doesn’t have size that jumps off the page in the vein of Trevor Lawrence or even the aforementioned Arch Manning. But at the Elite 11 finals this summer in Los Angeles, he impressed On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power with just about everything else he can do.
“Simpson turned in a solid first session at the Elite 11 Finals,” Power wrote. “This would be a theme for his overall week. Simpson showed good accuracy and above-average arm strength, even if he didn’t have the “wow” moments of some others. If the Alabama commit stood out in any category, it was with his movement. Simpson had some of the best footwork, showing the ability to get depth and explode out of his drops.”
He, like Bryce Young, has excellent escapability and can extend plays with his feet in a way that not many other signal-callers in the 2022 class can.
As for where he stands on a potential future depth chart in Tuscaloosa, we’ll have to wait and see. Young will likely be gone to the NFL by the beginning of the 2023 season, leaving Milroe, Simpson and (potentially) Manning to fight for the starting job. Nick Saban isn’t afraid to put true freshmen out on the field, but it remains to be seen if the next Manning quarterback prodigy even ends up in crimson and cream.