Why Grubb feels Ty Simpson is trending towards being at his ‘all-time’ best ahead of Rose Bowl

Ryan Grubb feels Ty Simpson performed at an elite level against Oklahoma because of the plays he made on the gridiron and the energy he brought to the sideline.

Grubb observed the game and called plays from the booth against the Sooners in the first round of the College Football Playoff. He watched Simpson make some impressive throws when he got effective pass protection in key moments in the game. Those throws were huge, but the moments Simpson shared with his teammates in between series on the sidelines were just as big, according to Grubb.

“Ty was, I thought, at his all-time best, in my opinion, just his resiliency on the sideline, his mindset, just the things he was saying in between series,” Grubb said. “There just was a belief that if I was down there playing with Ty, I would believe we’re gonna get this done.”

Simpson threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns in the Tide’s win over the Sooners, and he showed flashes of what made him a Heisman Trophy favorite early in the season. He also protected the football and did not commit a turnover. This was the best game Simpson had since dropping out of Heisman consideration, and it was a product of him getting back to letting the football rip.

“I think as far as where it came from, I think that there was a mindset going into the game that was embedded in Ty,” Grubb told reporters, “I think that it was one that you saw in the Georgia game earlier in the year and things like that, where there was a little bit of the just let it rip mentality, not worrying so much about what’s going on around him or how this could affect anything else other than just playing. Obviously for a 22-year-old young man,  that’s a lot of pressure. I think he did a good job of just staying in love with the process, be in the game plan, be ready for the game and let it keep building and adjust as you go in the game and get ready to make the play. I just think he was in that moment. He was in the zone as far as just staying locked into the game. I really felt like he knew that we were gonna make a play and that, and we got a couple man-coverage looks that we have been wanting that we won on… and I just felt like Ty was gonna be ready for that moment.”

A dangerous Simpson would be huge for Alabama in the Rose Bowl against Indiana.