Alabama QB Commit Ty Simpson Places Fifth in SIAA's Elite 11 Composite Rankings
Alabama 2022 quarterback commitment Ty Simpson placed fifth in SI All-American's Composite Rankings following the conclusion of the Elite 11 quarterback competition in California on Saturday.
The fifth-place finish for Simpson is out of the 20 quarterbacks that were featured in this year's competition. His highest result of the four-day gauntlet was on Day 1, where he placed first. He followed his opening performance with a 10th-place finish on both Day 2 and Day 3.
Clemson commit Cade Klubnik was the top overall performer at this week's competition, according to SIAA, while Texas' Maalik Murphy and Florida's Nick Evers round out the top three.
USC's Devin Brown was the final player separating Simpson from the top three quarterbacks, placing fourth. SIAA stated in their rankings that the final results solely consider the quarterbacks' performances at the Elite 11, not their overall successes in high school.
Simpson's accuracy went unmatched on the first day of competition, resulting in him leading SIAA's rankings after Day 1.
"He was particularly accurate while in the pocket, working to all three levels, often hitting the intended target on the numbers," SIAA wrote. "While on the move, his athleticism shined through and allowed for relatively easy-looking completions, even when working against the grain.
"Simpson showed no weaknesses out of the gate."
On Day 2, Simpson slipped a bit and fell to No. 10 after stellar performances from multiple quarterbacks — chiefly Klubnik — sent him down the rankings. That being said, Simpson still had a solid outing after two days of competition.
"[Simpson] made his money with throws on the run and down the field throughout the pro day circuit," SIAA wrote. "Simpson had no issue connecting on his rail shot, play-action deep left corner route and play-action endzone seam, while also showing similarly impressive velocity on short-to-intermediate concepts."
On the final day of competition on Friday before Saturday's 7-on-7 scrimmage, Simpson once again finished 10th place according to SIAA. While Simpson was maintaining accurate throws, his pacing was ultimately what cost him during the accuracy gauntlet.
"No competitor pushed through their first 10 throws faster or more impressively, but the pace of throwing at least five more passes than any other arm showed after the halfway point to a degree," SIAA wrote.
Simpson has been committed to the Crimson Tide since February and took his official visit to Tuscaloosa last weekend. He is one of eight commitments in Alabama's 2022 class that includes running backs Le'veon Moss and Emmanuel Henderson, tight ends Elijah Brown and Amari Niblack, defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis and Walter Bob Jr. and linebacker Robert Woodyard.
Here's SI All-American's full four-day assessment of Simpson, written by John Garcia, Jr. and Zach Goodall. You can find SIAA's full composite rankings list of the Elite 11 quarterbacks here.
Ty Simpson (Alabama)
Day one ranking: 1
Day two ranking: 10
Day three ranking: 10
The Alabama commitment was shot out of a cannon all week long, from a first impression standpoint as well as from an execution and tempo standpoint. There wasn’t seemingly a miss on the initial day of competition, also the day with arguably the most throws, something notable when it comes to Simpson’s fitness and overall athleticism. But there was a steadiness from the Tennessean all week long, from accuracy, mechanics and velocity perspectives.
Simpson won the training camp performance, in a unanimous decision from the SIAA staff on-site, thanks to steady accuracy even as the long evening wore on (capping the day most of the competitors arrived, no less). During the Pro Day, he got hot on many of the throws demanding mobility as well as overall difficulty, like the rail shot. The accuracy gauntlet helped him display more fitness and pace as he proved a top 10 performer despite throwing five more passes than any other.
