Nick Saban reveals what Ty Simpson has done 'extremely well' during his Alabama career

Ty Simpson has waited for his turn to be the starting quarterback at Alabama. Now, entering his fourth season and after two quarterback competitions, Simpson has won out to be the Crimson Tide’s QB1 this fall.

Few are happier to see that for Simpson than Nick Saban, his former head coach, considering how long he has awaited that opportunity. On ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Friday, Saban spoke well of his former player for the Tide for sticking with the process, in his play and on the depth chart, until finally getting the nod as a redshirt junior.

“I think Ty is, you know, a great young man who has – and I have all the respect in the world for these guys that, you know, stay in a program for three years, develop, and wait their turn. And I think that’s the thing that Ty has done extremely well,” Saban said. “You know, there’s so many of these guys that grow up now being outcome-oriented, you know, and they’re always looking at results – you know, many passes did I complete, how many touchdowns did I have.

“And then they create these expectations for themselves and, when they don’t live up to them, they get frustrated very easily and that body language is not good for a quarterback, not good for a team. That’s the big thing that Ty has had to sort of work his way through, is, you know, not get affected by a bad play, stay focused on the next play.”

Simpson, a former five-star himself as one of the top recruits in his class overall, has been a reserve in each of his seasons so far. That includes being a backup in each of the past two behind Jalen Milroe, losing a competition ahead of 2023, before being in another one coming into 2025. With that, Simpson has appeared in 16 games where he has been 29-50 (58%) for 381 yards, while also having rushed for three scores.

Simpson now has his chance to be the starter, as well as a team captain, for Alabama. Saban doesn’t doubt how it’ll go for him either based on his development, which he’s seen a lot of firsthand.

“He’s got all the talent in the world,” Saban said. “He’s got legs that are real. He’s a very accurate passer. He’s a good decision-maker. He’s smart. He’s a good leader.”

Simpson has awaited this for nearly four years now, with their season opener being tomorrow at Florida State. It’ll be there where Saban will see how Simpson handles it all for the Crimson Tide’s offense.

“It’ll be interesting to see how he can maintain the consistency and performance that defines success by not getting affected by ups and downs in a game,” Saban said.