Ty Simpson Did Something During Scrimmage 'That People Will Underestimate'

The Alabama quarterback used his legs a decent number of times on Saturday afternoon inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Aug 31, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) attempts to dive for the pylon as he runs the ball at Bryant-Denny Stadium with Western Kentucky Hilltoppers linebacker Anthony Brackenridge (31) pursuing. Alabama defeated Western Kentucky 63-0. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football has shifted a bit from pure pocket passers to dual-threats over the past couple of years.

Bryce Young did a bit of both during his 2021 Heisman Trophy campaign and Jalen Milroe was more of a pure dual-threat the past two seasons. But Milroe is now a rookie in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks and redshirt junior Ty Simpson has taken over as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback.

Simpson hasn't necessarily been viewed as a dual-threat and more of a player who stays inside or near the pocket. However, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer opened up about Simpson's legs and how they were used during Saturday's scrimmage inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"I thought he came out and executed the offense," DeBoer said. "Just continues to be steady. He finds his time to make plays. Today, he actually used his feet again. I think that's something that people will probably underestimate as we go through the year. Just his ability to make plays and keep plays alive."

DeBoer mentioned multiple times that Simpson was "steady" and "consistent," but wasn't exactly completing long balls—much in part due to the secondary, whom DeBoer commended as well.

"He probably had a higher completion percentage than what he had last scrimmage," DeBoer said. "Maybe not quite as explosive, but I think that's a tribute to our defense as well. So good both scrimmages for him.

"He's continuing to make progress. I think building the team and getting momentum going when we knew we needed to do it, and that's allowing us to have three weeks of prep building our team for Florida State."

Alabama named Simpson the starting quarterback on Monday after a long quarterback battle between him, redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and true freshman Keelon Russell. Simpson was considered the frontrunner the entire time, and it wasn't just because of his experience at UA.

DeBoer said after the first scrimmage on Aug. 9 that he'd likely name a starter shortly after today's scrimmage. But obviously, that wasn't the case and he explained why the Crimson Tide did it earlier than expected.

"We knew we were at that point where we felt good about who should be the starter," DeBoer said. "And just made sense after the scrimmage, we evaluated, kind of the whole product from the football field. You know, all the quarterbacks came out there again today and did a great job. And that was the same thing as last scrimmage."