Jalen Milroe hypes up Ty Simpson after Alabama scores touchdown vs. South Florida

While he was not called on to help his team on the field on Saturday, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was still plenty involved. And as the Crimson Tide got into a tight battle with South Florida, he was thoroughly excited when quarterback Ty Simpson led a drive to finally get into the end zone.

After Alabama took a 10-3 lead in the second half, Milroe came off the sideline and intercepted Simpson. The two quarterbacks shared a moment just off the sideline as Milroe hyped up his teammate.

And it’s something head coach Nick Saban noticed.

“Yeah he did a great job. He really has been supportive of his teammates and I was happy to see that. And hopefully we’ll all learn lessons from the experiences that we have and move forward in a positive way,” Saban said in his postgame press conference

Tyler Buchner originally got the start as Saban benched Milroe for at least Saturday. But Buchner struggled and Alabama turned to Simpson, not Milroe.

As for what went into that move, Saban said it all came down to winning. Simpson looked strong in practice this week, and after Buchner struggled, he earned a chance.

“We said we wanted to see if we had a quarterback that could play winning football,” Saban said. “Thought we struggled a little bit. Maybe it was the rain. I don’t know. Ty was the guy that practiced the best this week as a backup player, so he’s got a chance to play.”

Instead of sulking, Milroe kept himself engaged and was Simpson’s biggest hype man as he led a pair of second-half touchdown drives to give Alabama a 17-3 win.

Saban said all three quarterbacks will be evaluated after the win

All eyes are now on how Alabama and the quarterbacks do against Ole Miss next week.

Following the game, Saban said the plan was to evaluate all three of the quarterbacks throughout the week leading up to the SEC opener.

“We’re gonna evaluate the quarterbacks and the way they played today and evaluate Jalen Milroe in terms of how he played and decide this week, who gives us the best opportunity to be successful as an offensive team?” Saban said. “And that’s the way we’ll go.”

As for why Milroe didn’t play, Saban didn’t get into specifics, only pointing out how much practice plays in to a decision.

“I think that’s an internal team thing,” Saban said. “I think that everybody has the opportunity to respond in the right way when things don’t go exactly like you want them to. We play the guys that practice the best all week long.”