Ty Simpson opens up on decision to stay at Alabama, avoid transfer portal

In 2023, Ty Simpson was part of a high-profile quarterback competition at Alabama with Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner. Milroe ultimately won out and returned to the Crimson Tide in 2024, as well.

All the while, Simpson stayed in Tuscaloosa even though the transfer portal loomed as a possibility. It could pay off, though, as he’s in the driver’s seat to be Alabama’s starting quarterback this year.

Simpson said he leaned on his faith while weighing his future. A former five-star recruit, he thought and prayed on what he should do before ultimately opting to run it back with his teammates at Alabama rather than see them from the other sideline.

“I’m not gonna sit here and say it wasn’t hard because there were some days, I feel like God wasn’t on my side and I didn’t really understand His plan,” Simpson said at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, La. “But I prayed about it. At the end of the day, there wasn’t anywhere else where I wanted to play. I felt that God had put me in Tuscaloosa for a reason. I always felt like I could accomplish everything that I could – still to this day, with winning a national championship and being a first-round pick there at the University of Alabama.

“And I couldn’t leave my friends, my teammates. Some of my best friends who are going to be in my wedding one day are my teammates there at the University of Alabama. Seeing them on a different sideline, it didn’t feel right to me. With Coach [Nick] Saban’s guidance and the guys who are on the team and go to school there, there was nowhere else I would rather be than the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.”

Ty Simpson appeared in six games each of the last two years after playing in four games as a freshman in 2022, meaning he preserved a redshirt. During his time in Tuscaloosa, he has 381 passing yards while adding 130 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Now, Simpson is in the midst of another quarterback competition at Alabama, battling against Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell. This time, though, he appears to be the frontrunner. Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb recently reiterated the former five-star recruit is in the driver’s seat, but the battle will continue into training camp. Alabama is set to open the 2025 season Aug. 30 against Florida State.