Paul Finebaum: Ty Simpson, Ryan Grubb have been the key to Alabama's turnaround

After their opener, Alabama was thought to already be done this season. Instead, a month and half later, especially the past three weeks, almost no team has been better than the Crimson Tide.
Paul Finebaum reacted to the complete turnaround by No. 4 Alabama during ‘The Matt Barrie Show’ on Sunday. He credited their offense, led by QB Ty Simpson and OC Ryan Grubb, for most of what has gone right the past six games for those down in Tuscaloosa.
“I think you have to start with Ty Simpson, because he has been the glue that has kept this offense moving,” said Finebaum.
“And, I think you mentioned the name a minute ago. Ryan Grubb is the key, because he has just a given – he’s comfort food to Kalen DeBoer,” Finebaum added later. “Kalen DeBoer? I mean, you’ve seen these buddy shows in college football, and it just made him more comfortable and secure and, all of a sudden, they started dialing it up.”
Focusing offensively, Alabama, since scoring just 17 points against the Seminoles, has averaged 38.2 points and 436.3 yards overall over their last six games. Simpson has been the biggest part of that, as he has posted 76.7% completion for 279.5 passing yards per game, 16 touchdowns, and just one interception to now be towards the top of the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
Top 10
- 1New
Bowl Projections
Full list of matchups
- 2
Top Target: Kiffin
Why UF should pursue Ole Miss HC
- 3Hot
Coaching Carousel
Hot seat intel
- 4Trending
Shane Beamer
Denies Hokies rumors
- 5
AP Poll
Massive shakeup in Top 25
Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Finebaum, though, added that it even goes beyond them as to why Alabama has won six straight, including four consecutive to open conference play that have all come against Top-20 opponents at No. 5 Georgia, versus No. 16 Vanderbilt, at No. 14 Missouri, and against No. 11 Tennessee. He noted DeBoer too in how he and his team’s demeanor have changed since what happened back on August 30th.
“Nobody wants to go back seven, eight weeks, but, you know, after they got off to a really good start against FSU, they were jarred, and every cliché you’ve heard too many times – and I’m not going to waste your time with them. They just did not have the innate ability to recover because it was Ty Simpson’s first game,” said Finebaum. “They did transform after that, and DeBoer was able to take this, you know, low-key charm, where he is a genius in terms of the Xs and Os but he had not handled some of the other parts very well? He slowly moved the knob on the volume, and he got a little bit tougher, he got a lot of buy-in. And, I remember two, three, four weeks into the season, I kept hearing from my friends…and I was telling you on Sundays, come on, they’re not playing anybody…but it didn’t really matter. They came together cohesively.”
If week one was the wrong kind of statement by them, the past seven have been an exclamation point by ‘Bama. It’s one that has them fully back in contention in the SEC, with much to still be determined in the conference’s standings, as well as for a spot in the CFP.