TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — No. 8 Alabama has named Ty Simpson its starting quarterback heading into the team’s season opener at Florida State.
Coach Kalen DeBoer told Simpson along with fellow QBs Austin Mack and Keelon Russell before sharing the news with the team Monday. DeBoer and Simpson later spoke with Yea Alabama, a membership site that provides funding to the school’s student-athletes.
“They went through the X’s and O’s of why I would be the starter and said they were really proud of the QB room for how tight-knit we were,” Simpson said.
Simpson, a fourth-year junior from Martin, Tennessee, spent the last three years waiting for his shot. He backed up Bryce Young in 2022 and then Jalen Milroe the last two seasons.
“My journey is like no other,” Simpson said. “And I think it meant a lot to the guys as well, knowing that I’ve had opportunities to leave and I didn’t because I want to be here, and I want to be with my guys.
“Not only is it hard, sitting and waiting in this new era of college football, but you are sitting and waiting at the best, most competitive college football program in the nation. So I’m very excited for the opportunity I’ve been given.”
Simpson has completed 29 of 50 passes for 381 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions in 16 games.
“That’s what’s great and why I love rooting for Ty is just the journey he’s been on and the way he’s been loyal to Alabama, loyal to his teammates,” DeBoer said. “He continued to stay and keep fighting and do it in a way where he never lowered his level of character and always kept being a great teammate, first and foremost. So it makes it really easy, from a teammate standpoint, to root for him.”
Simpson’s first career start will come Aug. 30 in Tallahassee, Florida, against the Seminoles, who are trying to regroup after losing 11 of their last 13 games.
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