- Ty Simpson, a redshirt junior, has been named Alabama’s starting quarterback.
- Simpson, a former five-star recruit, has limited college experience but is considered highly talented.
- Simpson’s father and coaches have noticed increased confidence and maturity in his approach to the game.
Thomas Morris knows Ty Simpson better than most.
Morris trained Simpson starting in eighth grade for QB Country in Memphis, Tennessee. Morris watched Simpson blossom into the five-star quarterback who signed with Alabama, played under Nick Saban and alongside Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe.
Morris, who came to Alabama from for Westview High School in Martin, Tennessee, was one of Simpson’s first calls when the Alabama redshirt junior quarterback was named as the Crimson Tide’s starter, two weeks before the start of the season.
But even then, as Simpson prepares for Alabama’s Aug. 30 opener against Florida State, Morris still doesn’t know what Simpson, the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback, will look like.
“I don’t think anyone really knows what we have in Ty yet,” Morris told The Tuscaloosa News. “And that goes to me. I don’t know what’s going to happen when the lights are on.”
Simpson has fewer than 200 snaps of playing time, having sat behind Milroe and Young for three seasons. And when Simpson steps behind center at Doak Campbell Stadium against the Seminoles, it will be his first time as an Alabama starter, winning the role over redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell.
But Morris knows what Simpson could be. Simpson is “one of the most talented guys I have ever been around” and “a first-round talent type of quarterback.”
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That’s the message Morris shared when Simpson told him he was Alabama’s starting quarterback: It’s time to show the college football world who Simpson can be.
“I think he’s been waiting patiently to show the world that, ‘I’m this guy, I’m this talented, I can lead this team to heights just like these other greats that have come through,’” Morris said.
“I think he wants to be a great. He wants to be an all-timer.”
‘I do not need to be Superman’
At Westview High, Simpson could be “Superman.”
Based on arm talent and athleticism alone, Simpson could take over a game by himself, ‘running around like he’s Johnny Manziel making crazy throws and crazy plays,” Morris said. It’s how Simpson became a five-star quarterback. It’s how he caught Alabama’s attention initially.
But a superhero was not what the Crimson Tide needed.
“People talked with Saban about being a ‘system quarterback,’” Morris said. “Really, what this means is how do you run this offense, right? And I think, for Ty, it was just learning how to run an offense knowing, ‘I do not need to be Superman. I have five-star receivers. I have five-star running backs and tight ends. I can just dump it off to them. Not everything needs to be a big play.’”
It’s learning how to take what opposing defenses are giving, taking a check-down if necessary, anticipating windows and knowing when a play is over.
It’s learning how to run the show.
“Everybody wants to push the ball downfield and make Brett Favre-style plays and stuff like that,” said Jason Simpson, Ty’s father and Tennessee-Martin’s football coach. “Just through maturity-wise, Ty’s learned … it’s calculated risk, I’d tell you that. (Those are) conversations I’ve had with him, anyway. … Completions, get first downs.”
At Alabama, it’s known as the ‘gimme’ offense: making the easy plays easy and, simply, moving the ball downfield as safely as possible.
It’s what Mac Jones did at Alabama, Morris said.
Jones turned his redshirt junior season with the Crimson Tide − his first as a starter − into an NFL draft first-round selection, leading leading the SEC in completion percentage and passing yards. He also took the Crimson Tide to a national championship.
“Mac just knew how to get his playmakers the ball. And he had amazing playmakers,” Morris said, adding that Jones is “not nearly as talented” as Simpson is physically.
But through Jones, Morris said, Simpson found an opportunity.
“I think Ty saw that and said, ‘Man, if it takes three years, it takes three years. But I want to win a national championship. I want to get coached by the best. I want to be the best.’
How Ty Simpson became the right fit for Alabama football QB
The path was set for Simpson. It’s been done before at Alabama. But to run the show for the Crimson Tide, Simpson admits he first had to mature.
As a younger quarterback, battling for playing time with Young and Milroe, Simpson would call his father, Jason, after each practice and each scrimmage, breaking down each play made or missed and dissecting each praise or critique he received from the coaching staff.
Comparison ruled Simpson’s mind, leading to worry and anxiety, which fed questions about his place at Alabama.
To mature, Simpson had to change his mindset, something he couldn’t do alone.
“I sat back in my room one night and was like, ‘I’m going to pray (and) give everything I’ve got to the Lord. Just make sure I understand that I’m going to be the best player, the best Ty Simpson I can be,’” Simpson said.
When Jason Simpson hears about Ty’s increased confidence, it makes sense to him. Ty’s in the second year of an offensive scheme under coach Kalen DeBoer. Ty’s heading into his fourth season with the program.
But Jason Simpson sees a player in Ty Simpson who has simplified things.
“I think, as a young player, you probably pay attention to too much stuff,” Jason Simpson said. “As an older player, you realize, ‘Hey, I’m judged about taking care of the football, moving the ball, leading the team.’ You can’t talk your way into that spot.”
Ty Simpson didn’t have to.
Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb saw a quarterback who was authentic, who slowed the game down, who showed consistent desire to get better before earning the trust of the coaching staff.
“I really felt like he had showed enough through camp to be the dominant player in the room,” Grubb said.
‘Ty’s a grown man now’
Days before Ty Simpson was named Alabama’s starting quarterback, Jason Simpson watched his son take the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the Crimson Tide’s first fall scrimmage.
Jason saw glimpses of that “Superman” quarterback, the one who won a state championship at Westview. And when Ty got home hours after the scrimmage was complete, he wasn’t eager to break his performance down.
“He sits down in his chair,” Jason Simpson said. “And normally we would pull up the scrimmage and go through every play and talk through it and this, that and the other. But he was just locked in, confident in himself.”
Ty Simpson doesn’t talk about many plays with his father now unless Jason wants to install them into his own offense, Jason Simpson said with a chuckle. Their relationship simpler now.
Before every game, Jason sends Ty a text. The specifics may change from week to week, but the overall message remains: Use your platform to honor God, catch every snap, check the ball down and I love you, dude.
Jason Simpson doesn’t think Ty needs much more than that.
“Ty’s a grown man now,” Jason Simpson said. “This is his career, and I’m here just to support him.”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him atcgay@gannett.com or follow him@_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.