Nick Saban addresses who will be backup quarterback to Bryce Young

Almost all position battles for Alabama have been settled with the Crimson Tide set to kickoff their season on Saturday against Miami. However, the backup quarterback role remains an open competition, according to head coach Nick Saban.

Saban spoke to the media recently on the ongoing backup competition between Paul Tyson and Jalen Milroe.

“I think both those guys are in competition for the position,” Saban said. “Paul’s done a nice job. He’s got a good understanding of the offense. He’s very bright. And Jalen (Milroe) is a young player who’s still learning the offense but a very talented guy. Both guys are working hard, and both guys are doing a good job. Hopefully, they’ll continue to progress and hopefully we’ll be able to get them some experience somewhere along the line, as well.” 

Paul Tyson is entering his third season at Alabama. Tyson has made one career appearance for the Tide in 2019 against Western Carolina. Coming out of high school, Tyson was rated a four-star prospect from in-state Hewitt-Trussville. In 24 starts in high school, Tyson threw for 6,500 yards and 69 touchdowns.

Jalen Milroe is a true freshman who enrolled in the spring. Milroe was rated the 102nd prospect nationally from Katy (Texas) Tompkins. As a senior, Milroe led Tompkins to an undefeated regular season with 1,136 passing yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 259 yards and four scores. As a junior in 2019, Milroe passed for 2,689 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for 300 yards and seven scores.

Whoever wins the backup job will sit behind second-year quarterback Bryce Young, who was officially named the starting quarterback on Monday,.

While one of Tyson or Milroe could emerge as a dependable backup, Saban could open up the backup battle once again this offseason. Currently in the 2022 recruiting class, Alabama holds a commitment from high four-star quarterback Ty Simpson from Westview (Tenn.).

As a junior, Simpson threw for 1,888 yards, 20 touchdowns to just four interceptions, adding 311 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Simpson led Westview to the second round of the Tennessee Division I Class 3A playoffs. 

In his senior season opener, Simpson threw for 325 yards and five touchdowns, completing 20 of 24 passes. Simpson made waves nationally with this touchdown throw from last week’s game against Peabody.

Bryce Young named starter on Monday

Young was officially named the starting quarterback on Monday, though the decision has been expected all offseason. Young, the top-ranked quarterback in the 2020 recruiting class, was a backup himself last season, sitting behind Mac Jones who led Alabama to a national championship in 2020.

Saban spoke to media recently on what he’s seen from Young this offseason.

“Bryce has done a nice job,” Saban said. “I think he’s very confident. He understands the offense really well. He’s accurate with the ball. As I’ve mentioned before, the focus has been, ‘Can we get the players around him to play a little bit better with him?’ So, that’s going to help him probably be able to execute a little bit better and that’s been what we’ve worked hard on. And I think we’re making good progress in that regard.”

Alabama opens the season against Miami on Saturday in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.