'Why Not?': Ty Simpson’s Final Statement at Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Ty Simpson didn’t treat Alabama’s Pro Day like an audition.

He used it as a final statement.

For a quarterback widely projected as a first-round pick, there was very little to gain at the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility on Wednesday, and a lot to lose. Still, Simpson chose to step out onto that field, in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams, and throw.

Why not?

“Why not? Go have fun, go sling it,” Simpson said. “Being able to throw to Josh [Cuevas] and Germ [Germie Bernard] and those guys who I care about and who were great teammates to me is just something that I wanted to do. So I wanted to make it fun, throw to them one more time, and end it with a bang.”

Simpson made no shortage of high-leverage throws in 2025 for the Crimson Tide, but there was a different kind of pressure on him at Pro Day. Every single rep offered teams a potential reason not to draft him. One miscommunication with a wide receiver, one mistimed release, one overthrow: that's all it can take for a team to change its mind on a guy in a world where the margin for error is razor-thin, and a whiff on a day one quarterback often ends an executive's career.

Simpson knew all of this as he worked with QB Country's David Morris to choreograph his routine. He knew exactly what was on the line. Still, Simpson opted against a script built on easy completions, choosing instead to lean into the same high-leverage throws that defined his tape.

Why not?

“Why not? You let it rip,” Simpson said. “You look at my tape, I make the big-time throws, and I make easy throws. But this is something that is fun. And being able to show off my arm and show off my feet is something I wanted to do. That was something I emphasized to David [Morris], like, ‘Hey, let’s go show out, have the best Pro Day ever.’”

After a strong showing at February’s combine, Simpson’s place in the first round appeared secure. That didn’t stop the conversation from growing louder, as ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky pushed him into the spotlight when he named him the top quarterback in the class.

“It’s the same way that I processed you guys (the media) during the end of the year last year,” Simpson said of the increased noise. “You've just got to ignore it and keep playing. I get it, there’s going to be a lot of questions around my name, but I know what I’m capable of, and I know whoever’s going to get me is going to get a really good player and a guy who loves football and loves the team and loves being part of something bigger than himself."

Simpson understands the questions that come with his evaluation. He’s spent his entire career hearing people talk about his arm, about his fit, about whether he can translate to the next level.

His response hasn’t changed.

Why not?

"I'm tough, I'm resilient, I love football," Simpson said. "When I come into a program, I'm a program changer. I don't just make myself better, I make other people better. So, if you draft me and you want me to be your franchise quarterback, I'm not just coming in to look after myself, I'm looking after the whole team and making sure that I'm even better than where I left it."

What happens over the next month is no longer up to Simpson. The tape is in, the evaluations are being formed, and the debate around his future will take on a life of its own. But regardless of how it unfolds, Simpson will get his life-changing moment in April.

“I’m going to cry, for sure,” Simpson said of hearing his name called on draft day. “All the adversity I had to deal with through here, I’ve been dreaming of it since I was a kid. The sacrifices my mom and dad had to make. All the hard work. God has blessed me in so many different ways. Being able to hear my name being called is super surreal.”

As Simpson walked off the field on Wednesday, smile on his face after completing his routine in impressive fashion, he gave a cheeky, "Hey, strangers," to the media scrum waiting to interview him. A month from now, that line won’t feel like a joke.

The next level will be different, with a new locker room, a new playbook, and a new set of expectations. The margin for error will only get thinner, the stakes only higher.

But if Simpson’s time in Tuscaloosa proved anything, it’s that he’s never been interested in making things easy on himself.

For Simpson, the answer has never been, and will never be, complicated.

Why not?

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