What Alabama wanted to make sure its players saw before naming Ty Simpson starting QB

Photo Courtesy Of Alabama Athletics

Alabama football held off on naming a starting quarterback until after two weeks of fall camp.

This was ultimately by design. The Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb consistently discussed how he favored letting the battle go as long as it needed so that the starter was ‘better off for the competition.’

However, another reason why the Tide’s quarterback competition probably lasted as long as it did was to put an emphasis on the Crimson Tide’s players seeing Simpson earn the job.

“I think the guys have been supportive of all three guys, but certainly Ty has shown the most leadership and command,” Grubb said. “I don’t think anybody was caught off guard by that, but I thought, we did a good job as a coaching staff… trying to let it play its course, and make sure the team saw Ty earn it. I think that’s important for Ty, too, that he could come out there, his teammates know that he went and earned that spot. They’ve been great.”

Simpson separated himself during Alabama’s quarterback competition with his decision-making and command of the offense.

“Ty did a really nice job of taking care of the football, I think number one,” Grubb told reporters on Tuesday. “I think Ty is an incredible playmaker on the move, and I think from there, guys like that, you worry are they going to be able to train themselves to be able to take care of the football and even the room in general. Ty led that charge. Ty didn’t throw any picks last week. He’s thrown one all camp. We’ve thrown like four total this camp. This spring, I think at this time, we threw like 15. I think in general, the guys understand the concepts and control the offense a lot better as a room, and Ty was the best at that. His ability to command and create out of the pocket, I thought, was the best. Made great decisions. He is just much cleaner on some of the things you expect an older quarterback to do.”

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