Kirk Herbstreit encourages Ty Simpson to return to Alabama in 2026 rather than enter NFL Draft

As time ticked away on Alabama’s 2025 season, the attention will quickly shift to quarterback Ty Simpson’s future. He is eligible to declare for the NFL Draft, but ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit argued Simpson should return to Tuscaloosa in 2026.

Simpson has generated first-round buzz in the early part of the pre-draft process. ESPN analyst Field Yates projected him to go late in the first round of his first mock draft of the year, but admitted there are questions about whether he’ll even declare.

In the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl on Thursday, Herbstreit encouraged Simpson to run it back in 2026. He pointed to the development of another season as a reason he should return.

“Yeah, I think he should,” Herbstreit said on the ESPN broadcast. “I think it’d be great to see him come back and Alabama work hard to get better at running the football to take some of the heat off of him. I think he can really grow and develop with another year of playing college football and playing in these kinds of games. It really helps guys develop so they’re more prepared for that next step.”

Simpson put together a strong first year as the starter during Alabama’s regular season and helped lead the Crimson Tide to the SEC Championship. He was also impressive in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Oklahoma, throwing for 232 yards and two touchdowns as Alabama came back to take down the Sooners and advance to the quarterfinals.

All told, Simpson entered Thursday’s game with 3,500 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, to five interceptions. At the time of his departure, he completed 12 of 16 passes for 67 yards as Alabama struggled mightily against Indiana.

When asked about his future ahead of the Rose Bowl, Simpson said his focus has been on the task at hand. He did not put much thought into it as Alabama looked to secure a College Football Playoff semifinal bid.

“I haven’t really thought about it much, to be honest with you,” Simpson said. “Just because of the big game coming up.”

It was a rough go for Ty Simpson and Alabama in the Rose Bowl as Indiana dominated from the start. He went 12 of 16 for 67 yards before leaving with an apparent elbow injury. Backup quarterback Austin Mack took over in the third quarter and stayed in the rest of the way.